No Such Thing As Free Lunch
by aimdiscord
Summary: Sesshoumaru has problems. His father is a serial monogamist, his latest stepmother is out to destroy the family, and each new sibling is worse than the last. Worst, the girl of his dreams doesn't know he exists. Can Kagome help? [SessKag, AU]
1. Prologue

Blurb: Sesshoumaru has problems. His father is a serial monogamist, his latest stepmother is out to destroy the family, and each new sibling is worse than the last. Worst, the girl of his dreams doesn't know he exists. Can Kagome help? [SessKag, AU]

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Prologue:**

The first time Father remarried, Sesshoumaru had screamed and begged him not to do it. Mother could not and _should_ not ever be replaced. Ignoring the rants of his four-year old son, Touga had tied the knot with Izayoi.

Eight years later, Izayoi had died in a housefire, leaving behind a son named Inuyasha and a devastated family. Well, all except Sesshoumaru, at least. He was not disappointed until the _next_ marriage, two years later.

The second time Father remarried, his half-brother Inuyasha had cried and begged Father not to do it. A fourteen-year old Sesshoumaru had looked disdainfully at his half-brother and thought viciously – _Ha! Now you know how it feels!_

The third woman that Touga had married, Asako, already had a daughter by another marriage named Rin. Amazingly enough, Sesshoumaru realized with dismay, each one of his new siblings was worse than the last. If Inuyasha had been a spoiled brat, then Rin was an unholy terror.

For instance, his first memory of Inuyasha was of a wailing newborn that threw up all over his Power Rangers t-shirt. (Yes, Power Rangers. Four-year olds don't have very discriminating taste.) But his first memory of Rin was far more unsettling. In retrospect, he should have appreciated his half-brother while he had the chance, because the first thing that little six-year old Rin did upon meeting him was declare him to be her future husband.

And instead of _correcting_ her, his Father and _that woman_ (version #2) merely laughed. They had laughed! Like it was funny! It was not funny to be engaged to a step-sibling at the tender age of fourteen, especially when the girl was annoying and barely old enough to enter first grade.

Three years later, Rin had yet to outgrow her obsession, although the latest shock to their family dynamics almost did the trick. Asako, Rin's mother, had recently died in a car accident. And now, Touga was sitting in front of the children with yet _another_ potential mother figure. It was as though the man could not bear to be single for longer than 15 minutes.

Faced with the fourth woman that Touga wished to marry, Inuyasha crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, grunting in disapproval. Sesshoumaru, who knew the routine better than anyone by this time, merely closed his eyes and counted backwards from 1,000. Rin outperformed them both by miles. She did not shout or cry or beg, she only smiled.

"Sesshoumaru-husband says that when someone annoys me I should threaten to cut out their heart with a spoon, like in that movie about Robin Hood," announced the girl, now a full nine-and-a-half-years of age. "But Inu-nii-chan says threats are no good unless I intend to follow up on them."

Touga beamed like this was the most charming thing he had ever heard.

"Oh," replied the latest potential mother-figure, "Did they say that?"

"Yes," nodded the tiny girl resolutely. "Do you have a spoon I could borrow, ma'am?"

Sesshoumaru pondered his youngest sibling's words. Come to think of it, perhaps Rin wasn't all bad. Borrowing the murder weapon from the murder victim did sound like a wonderfully evil twist of fate.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not my characters, I'm just borrowing them and not being paid.

Author's Note: I wrote this story as if it was in Japan. However, sometimes I write the term 'freshman' or 'senior' instead of 'first-year student' or 'third-year student' . Please, forgive me for technical inaccuracy! I know that Japanese high school has three years, not four. If I call someone a 'senior' instead of a 'third-year student' – pretend they are the same, for this story? (I will try not to do this.)

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 1:**

"Sesshoumaru-sama," whispered an urgent sounding childlike voice. "Wake up, wake up!"

He groaned and rolled over in bed, looking at the alarm on his desk. It was 6:30 AM, and far too early to be awake, considering that he had stayed up until almost two o'clock in the morning studying. Such was life.

"Wha- is't Rin?" the pale-haired high-school student mumbled incoherently.

"Rin does not have an o-bento box for lunch today!"

A gust of cold air struck his legs and he felt the covers shift, as a warm body crawled under the sheets and pressed against him. The elementary schooler attached herself to him like a limpet and refused to let go. "Yes, you do," Sesshoumaru corrected, still half-asleep and not thinking clearly. "Asako always …"

Then he remembered. Asako was dead, just like Izayoi, and his own mother. With Father's incredible track record preceding him, it was a wonder that any women would agree to marry him at all.

And of course, wife number four was not about to waste her precious beauty sleep to make an elaborate lunchbox for someone else's ex-children. Yura was (if possible) even worse than all the previous women Touga brought home, combined. One look at the woman and it was easy to tell she was a complete slut. What kind of respectable lady wore clothing that low-cut in public? Father must be getting desperate.

"Of course, I remember now." Stretching, Sesshoumaru sat up with a grade-schooler still attached to his midriff. "Today I was going to make you a special lunch. A special lunch for fourth graders."

"Yay!" Rin cheered, finally releasing him so that he could make his way to the bathroom.

How inconvenient! He had enough on his plate already, without being forced to make meals for the family. Class representative, kendo club leader, top of his class at Shinota High School, plus he had cram-school most nights until 8:00 PM, in an effort to prepare for the college exams. How was he supposed to play nursemaid too?

All right, fine. Technically, no one was forcing him to do so. But Rin had never lost a mother before, and he felt sorry for the pint-sized squirt. Unlike Sesshoumaru or Inuyasha, Rin could not even claim Touga as one of her 'real' parents. She was totally alone in the world.

Shuffling into the kitchen, he washed and prepared some rice, as he tried to remember what Izayoi had typically prepared for lunch. Asako had only made o-bento boxes for her own daughter, leaving the elder step-sons to fend for themselves. But Izayoi had carefully wrapped meals for _all_ the children in the family. So, Sesshoumaru had eaten a few tasty lunches of his own, all the way through middle school.

Pickled radish, he thought absently, Fried shrimp, rice balls… Hn. Maybe regular shrimp since I don't have time to bread and fry them…

Half an hour later, Inuyasha stumbled into the kitchen and collapsed into one of the chairs. "You look good in an apron, dog," grumbled his ornery half-brother. "Hey! Where's my lunch?"

"You're in high school now. Get a girl to make you one."

"Idiot."

"Oh?" mocked Sesshoumaru, "No one is interested? Of course not. Look at your face."

"Bastard," the younger boy growled in return. "Do you have any idea how awful it is to hear about how wonderful you are this early in the morning? It makes me sick. The more you push girls away, the more they want you."

Ignoring his half-brother, he tied a knot in the brightly patterned fabric that surrounded his little step-sister's lunch box. "Here you go, Rin," he finished calmly.

In return, the nine-year old tackled him with another hug. "Thank you Sesshoumaru-husband," she chirped happily, "Someday when we are married, I will cook for you!"

As Sesshoumaru pulled Rin's arms away from his waist and pushed her out the door toward school, his half-brother cackled gleefully in the background. Inuyasha was next to leave. Slinging his bag over one shoulder, the younger sibling called out to his elder brother with a smirk. "You're going to be late, you know? I'm always late, and you're leaving at the same time as me."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. He hadn't even packed his things yet! How could this be happening?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As predicted, Sesshoumaru was late for his first class. He had never been tardy before in his life, but today he had broken that record. The worst part was that he could not even regret his actions. There was absolutely nothing that he could have done to move any faster that morning – Rin had needed an o-bento. It had only been a couple weeks since her mother died, and while the girl did not show it yet, he knew she felt the loss. Buying her a cheap, imitation lunch would have been an insult.

With a sigh, he straightened his tie and slid back the door. His teacher stared in shock. It was like the balding professor could not believe what he was seeing. Sesshoumaru Inuhito was never late to school – either he showed up early, or he was violently ill and could not show up at all.

Still, protocol had to be followed. "You're late," the teacher mouthed in awe. "As the class representative, when you are late for class, this sets a bad example for everyone else. Please stay after school today for clean-up duty."

Every eye in the room followed him as he slid into his seat and pulled out his notes. Despite himself, Sesshoumaru felt the back of his neck heating up, and he hoped the high collar on his uniform did not show the blush. All his life, he had tried to be the best, and he had easily succeeded. To be second-best was the same as failure, and failure meant dying a horrible death, cold and alone, in some remote corner of the Earth. No, not literally. But it certainly felt that way sometimes.

At first, it was simple enough – when he had done well in pre-school, his mother had praised him. Making Mother proud had given him a warm feeling of accomplishment, and he wanted more of it.

Later, when Mother died, things had grown complicated. Suddenly, he was no longer the shining star of the family. His Father took a new wife and loved Izayoi completely. Although Inuyasha had never been an exceptional child, both of his parents had commended his every action. Walking? A perfectly normal activity that everyone learned to do at some point – but the first time that Inuyasha accomplished it, he was petted and praised within an inch of his life. Grade-school? Inuyasha never did well, but Izayoi had hugged him for good grades as much as bad ones.

As a boy, Sesshoumaru had never fully understood what he was feeling. All he had known was that his performance no longer mattered. There was nothing he could do that would make him special in his parents' eyes – he could have flown to the moon and back, but his father and step-mother would have continued to treat him exactly the same as his unaccomplished half-brother.

But sometimes, when he passed a test with the highest score or he achieved a remarkable score in a sporting event, his mother's voice had filtered through to him, telling him that he did well. The teachers and mentors at school had slowly become a prism reflecting her voice, reminding him that all was well – he was exceptional, while his half-brother was average. Even if Father did not see it, this was enough reward. He would outshine and surpass them all, and the teachers would praise him in place of Mother.

By the time Izayoi died, this behavior had become habitual. The third wife, Asako, had commented once that he seemed very stressed and perhaps a teenager should take breaks every now and then. He had responded so harshly that she had never spoken to him again. But then, she deserved it, for suggesting that he settle for being a typical, mediocre, useless, brainless, bowl of jello-pudding. Since when did a run-of-the-mill, average nobody get anywhere in life? Never.

And so, Sesshoumaru stayed at the top of his class every year, consistently outperforming the other students. He was the best at every sport, he was elected class-representative, he ran the school kendo club, and he performed enough extra-curricular activities that his resume could have filled a small binder if he had listed each one.

He also did not enjoy talking to other people. For some reason, this had increased his reputation even more. When he did speak to others, he was always polite, and rather than describing him as 'cold' the students and teachers had decided that he was 'modest.' This suited him, so Sesshoumaru did not correct them.

Until now, the only one to break through his defenses was Rin (a.k.a. the limpet). This had thrown him for a loop briefly. Most girls that asked him out were far _older_ and less _persistent_ than his little step-sibling. However, he was unable to push her away. If he tried, then the grade-schooler returned the next morning with a bright smile in place, ready to try again. After a while, Sesshoumaru had simply accepted her presence, and he assumed that she would grow out of this phase eventually.

As for girls… Inuyasha, for all his short-comings, had described the situation accurately that morning. The more he pushed them away, the more they fawned over him. Naturally, his half-brother was only half-correct though. Sesshoumaru _did_ push girls away, but only the unworthy ones. It was not his fault that almost all of them were unworthy. Furthermore, the first result had nothing to do with the second one. High-school girls did seem strangely enamored of him, but this was not because he ignored them, it was because he was a model student.

Besides, there was only one girl he wanted to date.

His gaze slid surreptitiously to the side, checking whether she had noticed or frowned upon his behavior that morning. But the object of his affection remained indifferent as usual. That was one of the things he liked most about her. She never let anything rattle or upset her. His shoulders relaxed. As long as Kikyou did not care about the situation, then his tardiness was excusable.

Sitting beside the window, she kept her chin turned down toward her textbooks. Long, glossy black hair fell in waves to her waist, outlined by the sun through the glass panes, and her lashes obscured his view of her eyes. Honestly, she was very beautiful.

Her looks were not the reason he had noticed her though. He paid attention to her, because Kikyou was exactly like him. She was also a class representative. She was dependable, mature, and intelligent. No matter what happened in their class, she was always there, helping to take care of the problem. Even though he had worked hard his entire life, it nevertheless amazed him to see another person like that existed in the world. Most of his peers were lazy and relatively boring, but Kikyou obviously studied and followed her dreams. She had even surpassed him a few times on exams.

In fact, Sesshoumaru felt that she was even more worthy of respect than he was. Not only did she uphold her excellent grades, flawlessly juggle extra-curricular activities and school clubs, but also she found time to mentor other students. She was good with people, not only schoolwork. Sometimes, just thinking about it made him shiver in awe.

He was never jealous of his fellow class representative. Jealousy was reserved for his home-life – he resented it when other people (namely Inuyasha) received credit for things they did _not_ do. In Kikyou, he found not a rival, but an idol. The challenge was to keep up with her, not in order to defeat her, but to better himself. It was a refreshing change of pace, actually.

The bell rang and he gathered his things, only to see a pair of familiar-looking shoes approach his desk. Sesshoumaru straightened and faced the very person that he had been thinking about all period. With a tentative smile, Kikyou nodded her head.

"Technically, I have clean-up duty all this week," she said kindly, "You don't have to come after school if you don't want."

He ran over the words in his mind, inspecting them from multiple angles. Did that mean that she wanted to avoid his company, or get him in trouble with the professor for failing to show up? But no, this was Kikyou. Most likely, she was trying to be kind. She was responsible for cleaning the classroom and would not force him to do something as punishment, despite their teacher's reluctant insistence. His heart warmed at the thought.

"It's all right," he replied, "I was late, after all. Take the afternoon off."

"Thank you," answered his fellow classmate, gifting him with another one of her placid, calming smiles. "You're very understanding."

Before he could wish her a nice day, she departed the classroom, joining the throng of students in the hallway. Sesshoumaru realized, belatedly, that he could have offered to clean the classroom _with_ her, instead of alone. Damn.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day, he started earlier than ever. O-bento box-lunch ingredients had been bought, along with a cookbook on the subject. Rin had informed him of all her favorite dishes. He was ready to go.

The walk to school was uneventful. His first period was not objectionable. Classes were fairly interesting as far as schoolwork went. It was just another day – until the break between his last two periods.

At that point, as he walked to his locker, he was waylaid by a group of girls from his class. "Thank you sooo much for your help, Sesshoumaru!" the first one grinned. "That math problem was easy after you explained it."

"Yes, we would have never figured it out otherwise!" the second one squealed.

Staring down at them blankly, Sesshoumaru stretched his memory and tried to remember where he had met them. Had he helped them on a Calculus problem? It was hard to remember sometimes.

In any case, it was silly for them to mention it. Any class representative would have done the same. Namely, Kikyou. She was always helping people with their homework. Sesshoumaru felt obliged to meet her standards.

For some reason though, the only people who ever requested _his_ assistance were female. He took a deep breath and nodded once. "It was no trouble."

"Oh, but it was really nice of you," smiled the third, a light blush dotting her cheeks. "Is there anything we can do to make it up to you?"

"That won't be necessary," he answered curtly, opening his locker and packing his books for the end of the day. He liked to leave directly after his club meetings, rather than returning to his locker through the deserted hallways of their building.

"Maybe a CD?" the second one asked, persistently. "What kind of music do you like?"

Sesshoumaru grit his teeth, but maintained a neutral expression. "No, please. I was happy to help."

Seeing that their appreciation (a.k.a. harassment) was not turning out the way they had planned, the three girls exchanged a look and surrendered the battle, if not the war. "Well, okay! Thanks again! See you tomorrow!"

With an inaudible sigh of relief, he closed his locker door. The action dislodged a little piece of paper stuck in the grill, and it fluttered to the ground. The paper was folded in thirds with a sticker in the shape of a heart sealing the folds. Sesshoumaru frowned. When had that gotten in his locker?

One of the three girls had probably managed to slip this into his locker while he was distracted. Or perhaps, it had been there before he arrived? Scratching his head, Sesshoumaru pocketed the letter and made his way to his final class of the day.

It was obviously a love-letter. And if it was penned by one of the three simpering females he had spoken with in the hall, then he was not so certain he wanted to open it. But there was always the off-chance that the letter was from someone else. He received a fair number of these over the course of any given year, but usually girls waited until later in the semester to start sending them.

Finally, he gave in to temptation. It was not the most elaborate note he had ever gotten, nor the most outlandish. The paper was plain and the heart-shaped sticker was not too ostentatious and showy. Besides, his last class of the day was history – and Sesshoumaru already had read the textbook over the summer. He was bored enough to read anything at the moment.

 _Meet me by the tennis courts at five o'clock, please,_ read the note. There was no signature, but the handwriting within was neat and organized. No frills or excessive femininity. All in all, the letter seemed bold and confident, which was good, but it did not admit to an author, which was bad.

On the other hand, the girl was obviously brave enough to ask him out in person. This already signified a vast improvement over a secret admirers or a shy, stammering school-girl. Replacing the letter in his pocket, he decided to meet the girl in person. Bravery should be rewarded, to a certain extent. And if she did not make a total fool of herself in front of him, then he would turn her down nicely too...


	3. Chapter 2

**No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 2:**

As he approached the tennis court, Sesshoumaru's steps grew slower and slower.

He had just emerged from kendo practice, and if he did not hurry, he would never make it to cram school on time, but at the moment, a more pressing concern flooded his mind. The woman waiting by the corner of the tennis court looked painfully familiar. She was facing away from him, but he could see her waist-length hair and her slender frame. Then, she turned his direction and he felt his heart shudder to a stop momentarily.

 _Kikyou is…_ he thought, finding it difficult to form rational ideas. _She likes me?_

For a single instant in time, he believed that he understood what it meant to feel happiness.

Most of the time, his emotions seemed sealed. Sesshoumaru not only failed to show his emotional state to others, he failed to _feel_ at all. Ever since his mother had died, the world touched him superficially, sliding along the surface of his skin, but nothing really reached the center. He had recognized this as one of his flaws, and he had worked to fix it by showing proper emotions at suitable moments in time. When people gave him birthday presents, for instance, he smiled. When people told him bad news, he frowned.

Inuyasha was one of the few people able to pull emotions out of Sesshoumaru, but his half-brother usually elicited a negative response like anger or annoyance. And Rin occasionally caused him to feel pride or peaceful calm.

But this was the first time that he could recall feeling gloriously happy. His heart raced and his palms sweated and he could feel his face growing slightly red beneath the afternoon sun, and Sesshoumaru belatedly realized all the textbook symptoms were present. He had a crush on Kikyou, and she returned the feeling, and it made him feel slightly giddy and lightheaded inside. That was love, right?

He had never seriously considered pursuing a relationship with his fellow class-representative. Honestly, he had never contemplated having a girlfriend at all, except in vaguely clinical terms. Father remarried often enough that he had never been very interested in women. To his way of thinking, love only brought heartache. If you weren't going to do it sincerely, then what was the point? He did not want to become like his old man, moving from marriage to marriage like a squatter, eternally getting kicked out of the home his heart had carefully fashioned for itself.

Sesshoumaru had decided that there would be time to worry about girls later – in college perhaps.

Meanwhile, he was content to admire from afar. Kikyou was perfect, but also focused and determined to succeed in school. Like Sesshoumaru, she politely rejected her suitors and moved on with life.

But... if she would be willing to date him, then he would certainly not be opposed to the idea.

He drew closer and closer, shoes crunching softly in the gravel around the tennis courts. She glanced up at his approach, and…

It wasn't her.

Sesshoumaru blinked in confusion. The girl resembled Kikyou greatly. Both of them had the same hairstyle, height and build. But this girl had blue-eyes, and her face was obviously younger than the one he had expected to see. He estimated she could not be any older than her first year in high-school.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, trying to fend off a misplaced feeling of rejection. Happiness was overrated. It had a downside too – disappointment. He was an idiot. Of course, Kikyou would not plan a confession of her undying love by the tennis courts. She wasn't interested at all.

Angry with himself for imagining something that could not be true, Sesshoumaru glared at the blue-eyed girl. He had built a castle out of sand in little less than a minute, only to feel dismay when the castle crumbled. How ridiculous!

This was no longer going to be a 'nice' let-down. She was going to bear the brunt of his frustration. "Are you waiting for me?" he stated icily.

In less than a second, the girl managed to knock the ground out from under his feet once more. "Why no," she replied coldly, "I am not. Go away please. I'm very busy right now."

"You don't appear to be doing anything," growled Sesshoumaru. "Is breathing so difficult?"

Narrowing her eyes, the girl turned to face him directly. "Okay, mister. I don't know what your problem is, but I was politely minding my own business over here, before you came. Scram! Shoo! Run along!"

Naturally, this only made the situation worse. No one ordered Sesshoumaru to do anything. Even his father usually asked permission before requesting something of his eldest son.

A belligerent streak, the likes of which he had previously never known, abruptly asserted itself. He stiffened and advanced toward the chicken-wire fence surrounding the tennis courts. Leaning casually against the wires, he declared, "This is a free world. I can stay if I like."

Yes, perhaps it was a bit childish, but then, she had been rude. This girl deserved it, surely.

"Oh my god! Are you trying to annoy me?" she moaned, staring incredulously at the upperclassman who had suddenly decided to make her day worse. Then, taking a deep breath, she forcibly calmed her temper. "Okay, look. We seem to have gotten off to a bad start. I apologize. I am waiting for someone here, and I would really, really appreciate it if I could meet with him alone."

This perked Sesshoumaru's interest. Finally, a rational explanation for what this girl was doing beside the tennis courts at 5:00 PM, which was clearly stated in her note as the place and time for a meeting. Her meeting was with someone else, apparently.

"For whom are you waiting?" he inquired almost idly, watching the clouds.

"I fail to see how that is any of your business," she snapped.

He merely waited. Silence sometimes worked to draw answers out of people where argumentative tactics did not. Her jaw fell open in disbelief, as she realized that he would not politely comply with her wishes.

"Inuyasha Inuhito," the girl groaned eventually, after the suspense became too much to bear. "Not that it should matter to you!"

"In that case," Sesshoumaru sniffed disdainfully, "You should be glad that he never received your note. No one deserves the punishment of dating my half-brother." Removing her love-letter from the inner pocket of his jacket, he returned it to her and walked away, leaving behind a speechless audience.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was three o'clock in the morning, when a shivering figure woke Sesshoumaru out of a sound sleep. Little fingers pried at his pajama top and he realized Rin had crawled into his bed again. "Sesshoumaru-husband," she whimpered softly, and he realized that something was very, very wrong by the quiver in her voice. "When is Mommy coming home?"

Oh God. He had only slept for a few hours – he needed more time to wake-up his brain before having _this_ conversation. Hadn't someone explained this to her already? He held her hand at the funeral, and Father had taken her aside to clarify what it meant to be in a car-accident. People had given their condolences, and his father had remarried in less than one month.

All along, Rin had smiled. Obviously, this should have been his first clue that she did not understand. A little girl did not smile at her mother's funeral unless she completely failed to grasp the significance of the event.

"Rin doesn't like Yura," continued the trembling little girl, speaking as though she was younger than her age. "Rin would rather have Mommy back instead."

His mouth opened and closed uselessly, and he finally settled for pulling his step-sibling closer to his chest, bundling her in the comforter. There was not much he could say. Despite all the hours he spent studying and training and practicing, none of his instructors ever taught him how to comfort a child over the death of parent.

So, he did his best, striking out into uncharted waters with only past experience to guide him.

"Sometimes, when people leave," he stumbled over the words, "They don't come back."

"Why?" A pool of hot tears was collecting on his shoulder, and he rubbed her back absently.

"Because…" Sesshoumaru tried again. "Because…"

The room was dark except for the glow of a nightlight in the hallway creeping over the tan carpeting. A fan switched on somewhere in the house, providing a gentle backdrop of white noise. What would he have wanted to hear at her age? What had he yearned to understand, when his own Mother left?

He had never needed to comfort his half-brother like this. Inuyasha had sobbed after Izayoi died, but the housefire had clearly delineated her death. It was not like the accident that swiftly and unexpectedly plucked Asako out of their home. Plus, Father had actually _mourned_ Izayoi's loss, unlike the first and third wives. It had been years before Touga remarried that time. Sesshoumaru wondered, suddenly, what made one woman more lovable than the others.

Ah, yes. He remembered now. When Mother died, he had wanted someone to tell him everything would be all right. Even a kind lie would have been better than the silence and the sudden transition to a new family. One without his mother in it.

"It's okay," he murmured accordingly, holding his step-sibling close while he lied. "Everything will be all right."

"Don't leave," she mumbled into his shirt.

"I won't."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Morning came in time, and like all good things, it had to end eventually. Sesshoumaru's good morning was ruined the moment he saw his half-brother step into the kitchen. He carefully folded the newspaper he had been reading and laid it on the table in front of him.

"Inuyasha," he began in a tone that tolerated no nonsense. Ironically, he had picked this technique up from Izayoi. It worked like a charm. "Why did you leave a note in my locker?"

The boy froze, shoulders hunched, then he dug through the refrigerator looking for some juice. Finally, with a cup in hand, Inuyasha stood and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I figured you do such a good job brushing off all those women," he admitted, "You could use that tactless discourtesy and do me a favor. This girl is seriously crazy. She face-planted me into the floor the first time we met."

"I am always courteous," the elder brother replied curtly. "You, on the other hand, have just proven yourself a boorish idiot."

"Oh, really! As if it was difficult for you," whined his half-brother, before adding one last word for good measure. "Bastard." The day was not complete without this standard slur from his sibling.

"Reckless fool."

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" inquired Sesshoumaru, carefully concealing a smirk, "O impudent, inconsiderate one?"

"That!" shrieked Inuyasha, pointing a finger in his eldest sibling's direction, "You put adjectives before your insults. Can't you find a few suitably offensive words and stick with them?"

With a huff, the pale-haired boy threw himself into a chair at the table and slouched. Picking up a fork, he dragged a healthy portion of bacon and eggs onto his plate, ignoring the fact that other members of the household might want to eat breakfast as well. Of course, if Inuyasha consumed all the available food, then _that woman_ (version #3) might not be able to eat anything either. Ultimately, it was a trade-off.

Sesshoumaru waited until the first bite had entered his little brother's mouth. "Remember who has been preparing your food for the last week," he chided his half-brother.

"Hmmpheh?" came the subdued reply.

"In other words, do you really feel safe eating in this house, after insulting me?"

The younger boy looked at his plate full of tempting, fluffy eggs and bacon. Then, he looked back at his sibling. Surely, not. And yet, Sesshoumaru had asked him about the love-letter the moment that he stepped into the kitchen… Clearly, Sesshoumaru had known about this little detail while preparing the food that morning. And really, his elder brother never needed an excuse to torture him. The threat was credible.

Inuyasha grabbed a napkin and spat out the first bite of food he had taken, glaring at his brother all the while. Then, pushing away his chair he went to the sink and prepared a cup of instant ramen. If he had to, Inuyasha decided, he could live off of instant ramen for years.

Sesshoumaru stifled a laugh. It was too easy to rile the boy. Annoying his little brother always made his day better.

"Apologize to the girl," Sesshoumaru ordered, going back to his newspaper now that he knew Inuyasha was eating instant ramen instead of real food.

"Don hav'ta," Inuyasha replied stubbornly. "You're the one who…"

"Just do it," commanded the elder brother.

With a scowl, Inuyasha slammed his chopsticks down on the table. "Just because we're in the same school this year," the pale-haired boy shouted, "That doesn't mean you can boss me around!"

"Be thankful it is only for one year," Sesshoumaru answered calmly. "I know I am." After this year, he would graduate high school and attend the best university he could. He would barely see Inuyasha at all. It was marvelous.

"Fine! I'll do it!" the boy submitted, "But if she gets upset again, I'm blaming the whole situation on you."

Sesshoumaru did not see how it was possible for anyone to avoid being upset by his half-brother's idiocy. On the other hand, he did not particularly care for the abrasive girl with whom he met yesterday. As long as Inuyasha apologized, the elder sibling felt this was enough to maintain the family's honor. Somewhat. Well, as much as possible, in the hands of someone like Inuyasha. If the silly girl bothered him again, because of his half-brother's actions, Sesshoumaru would simply perform damage control later.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Despite various similarities to KareKano, I invented the plot. But the characters shall always belong to Rumiko Takahashi

Author's Note: I forgot what I was doing - again - letting the updates slide. I apologize. You'll get used to it, if you haven't already.

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 3:**

Retribution came sooner than expected, and in a form that he never anticipated. The next weekday, after school, he found a note in his locker again, penned by the same hand as the last. But this time, the letter was so thick it barely managed to fit through the grille on the door. No heart stickers adorned this note; instead there was a rather rude depiction of an anime character pulling down one eyelid, sticking out her tongue and flipping him off.

Intrigued, despite himself, he unfolded the message. _To the holder of the most insufferable ego I have ever encountered,_ it began. _While I admit our initial meeting was not on the best of terms, I was willing to think the best of you at first. I thought there had simply been a terrible mistake. But then, I learned how you treat your younger brother Inuyasha. I have heard of 'sibling rivalry' before, but honestly, you take this to new extremes! How you could do such a thing to your own brother is beyond me._

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and leaned against his closed locker door, wondering what his half-brother had actually told this girl. Obviously, Inuyasha had not apologized properly. Quickly, his eyes scanned over the subsequent pages. _… obsessive jealousy… seek to destroy your brother's chances at finding true happiness … see a psychologist…_

Honestly, what had the brat said? Flipping the pages over until he reached the end of the packet, he read the last few lines and examined the flourished script with which the girl had signed her name. _Kagome Higurashi_. The end of the letter was obviously penned with more anger than the beginning. Her penmanship began as a tightly controlled effort and ended with vigorous strokes across the page. It would seem she was the kind of woman that worked herself into a rage, instead of simmering down over time, the more she thought about something.

With a long-suffering sigh, Sesshoumaru stuffed the missive into his bag. He would deal with this later. At the moment, he wasn't certain whether he wanted to strangle her or laugh in her face. Still, the situation was entirely Inuyasha's fault. Best to get to the bottom of things first, before jumping to conclusions about strangers.

As he exited the school gate, he was so lost in thought that he almost missed what was occurring across the street. Kikyou stood there, behind a car, while a man with dark, wavy hair spoke to her, leaning possessively over the hood of the vehicle. The man had an almost eerie glow to his eyes; they seemed to be tinged red by the bright sunlight.

Although their words were too soft for him to hear, Sesshoumaru grasped their intent well enough, when the man moved around the car and grasped Kikyou's arms. She did not pull away. Apparently, Kikyou knew this man… and he was interested in her… They stood very close as they continued their discussion.

His chest clenched at the realization – his fellow class-representative had a private life, and it had nothing to do with him. Although Sesshoumaru understood the 'love-letter' he had received was not from Kikyou, the hopes it had raised still bothered him. Before, his heart had lain dormant, calm and unperturbed, like the smooth surface of a lake. Serene. But a pebble had been dropped into the lake, creating ripples even after the stone sank and disappeared. That ridiculous love-letter had made him hope for something that was not real, and even now, he still found himself thinking about it. Why?

Frustrated with himself, he turned away and started walking toward cram school. He never saw the way Kikyou struggled out of the man's embrace and hurried home, alone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

 _Ptt. Whirr. Whoosh._ Coffee poured into a paper cup sitting conveniently below in the cup holder. Instant coffee from a vending machine was not his favorite, but Sesshoumaru had an early morning every day this week, and any caffeine was appreciated at this point. After preparing Rin's meals and helping her get ready for school, Sesshoumaru had not a moment to spare in the mornings. So, he was reduced to this – getting his daily caffeine intake from a drink machine in the school building.

Reaching inside the machine, he retrieved the steaming, paper cup, only to stare in wonder as it was nimbly snatched away from him one second later. What on earth? Sesshoumaru looked up in confusion.

To one side, a familiar looking girl was drinking his coffee. She had taken the cup out of his hand and started to drink, before Sesshoumaru even realized what was happening. Without coffee to wake him up, it was rather difficult for Sesshoumaru to focus or respond to events in a timely fashion. Instead, he merely stared in awe as the girl downed a piping hot cup of liquid in thirty seconds or less.

In the background, another first-year stared in horror. "Kagome," the other girl whispered, "You don't even _like_ coffee…"

Wiping her mouth with one hand, the stealer-of-his-caffeine crushed the paper cup with a mad glint in her eye. "How does it feel?" she said. "Hmm?"

Her fiery glare could have melted ice, but it had little effect on Sesshoumaru's heart. He was too busy trying to figure out what was happening. Apparently, his half-brother was correct, on the subject of this girl's sanity. And the mere idea that he had just agreed with Inuyasha, about anything, was so unsettling that Sesshoumaru cringed in dismay.

Luckily, he was also very practiced at concealing his emotions. The deranged lunatic and coffee-thief before him did not seem to notice his alarm. Sesshoumaru asked the inevitable question, helpless to do otherwise. "How does what feel?"

She leaned in, and he noticed that her blue eyes seemed to darken when she was angry. At the moment, those eyes were narrowed and focused on him. "How does it _feel_ to have what is rightfully yours taken away from you?"

Tossing the crumpled cup into a nearby waste-bin, she flounced away. The hem of her skirt swayed radically with each of her over-emphasized steps. Sesshoumaru stared in astonishment, mystified by the strange events around him this morning. He still had not consumed any caffeine.

Quickly following after her friend, the second girl bowed and apologized for their behavior. "She just…" stammered the girl, fidgeting with the straps of her backpack. "I'm sorry she did that! Excuse me!"

Fleeing the scene of the crime, the other girl left him alone. He shook his head and bought another cup of coffee.

The kind of person who worked herself into rage, instead of calming down over time… Indeed.

Now, he _really_ wanted to know what Inuyasha had told her. His half-brother was dead already. The boy just didn't know it yet.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was lunchtime when he finally cornered his errant sibling.

Inuyasha was clearly avoiding him. The boy was not in the cafeteria, eating with his friends, nor in any of the empty classrooms. And this meant his little brother was _truly_ trying to evade him, because first-year and third-year students did not even have the same lunch period, so Inuyasha should not have worried about meeting Sesshoumaru during the lunch-hour at all. Unless, of course, he _knew_ that he was in trouble, and his elder brother was out to get him… Clearly, he knew.

In the end, Sesshoumaru found his half-brother hiding on the rooftop of the building. It was the only place that he had not looked yet. He had skipped the previous period, ostensibly to visit the nurse, while he searched the campus for his sibling, and Sesshoumaru _hated_ to miss class. But – oh! – how sweet the look of terror that swept across Inuyasha's face, when Sesshoumaru finally tracked him down.

"Agh, what are you? A bloodhound?!" yelled Inuyasha, backing away from his elder brother, as Sesshoumaru stepped from the stairwell onto the roof. "How did you find me? You're supposed to be in class!"

"Which explains why you are skulking around in a deserted part of the building, instead of eating lunch," drawled Sesshoumaru. Excellent. His opponent was already terrified. This increased his chances of an honest confession.

Weighing his options, Sesshoumaru tried to decide how to punish his half-brother. Tying him up and forcing him to miss the rest of the day of school would get them both in trouble, and Inuyasha would probably enjoy skipping school, on some level, so that idea was out of the question. Perhaps public humiliation?

"When I recommended that you apologize to a certain girl, for standing her up," continued Sesshoumaru darkly, "What exactly did you say to her? It is obvious you did not do as I asked."

"Oh! That!" his half-brother laughed uneasily, "I just told her about how you… you know…"

"No," the elder sibling deadpanned. "Perhaps you should be more specific."

Scooting backward until his back hit the chain-link fence that wrapped around the top of the building courtyard, Inuyasha started to pace, restlessly, back and forth along the fence-line. Finally, the boy protested loudly, "Well, I couldn't very well say I hated her guts, could I?"

The gaze Inuyasha sent in his elder brother's direction was puppy-like and pitiful. Sesshoumaru was unmoved. He had never asked for anyone to hurt the girl's feelings; he had simply requested a little bit of honesty on his half-brother's part. If his sibling did not want to date the girl, then best to be forthright about this fact. To do less would be disreputable and misleading.

Rather than genuinely facing his problems, Inuyasha had somehow foisted the problem off on his elder brother, yet again. " _What_ did you _say_?" Sesshoumaru hissed.

Inuyasha yelped and then blushed hotly, refusing to meet his elder brother's gaze. "Uhm… I said that… Well, I didn't want to tell her that I had been avoiding her. Girls have fragile self-esteem, you know? And you are always destroying my life, anyway, so it seemed reasonable, not too far off the mark… So I told her you were… um… jealous?"

Sesshoumaru blinked. This did not compute. "Jealous of _you_?" he mouthed, uncomprehendingly.

"Yes! Exactly!" chirped his half-brother nervously, rubbing his hands together. "Always trying to steal my girlfriends, and such. No big deal, right?"

Closing his eyes, he tried to understand his half-brother's mind for a full five seconds, before giving it up as a lost cause. It was the most ridiculous excuse that he had ever heard. Could the girl, Higurashi, not see through such an obvious deception? Girls practically threw themselves at Sesshoumaru; he didn't need to 'steal' their affections. Besides, one who wanted to date his _brother_ would hardly be worthy, in any case.

"Since you are incapable of telling the truth," sighed Sesshoumaru, pivoting on his heel and walking toward the stairwell, "Then I will do so, on your behalf."

Instantly, Inuyasha began to panic. A frantic flurry of footsteps followed, and suddenly his little brother was standing by his side, with a pleading expression. The older sibling stared stonily back at him.

It was almost comical, the way his half-brother squirmed under his gaze. Inuyasha always acted over-emotional and headstrong, but this time, it took three attempts before he managed to spit out the words. "Don't do that!" he begged, sounding far less repentant than he thought, "Um… Please?"

Sesshoumaru raised one brow, skeptically. The brat was in no position to be making demands, and he knew it.

A bell chimed for the beginning of the last lunch-hour, signaling that Inuyasha would be late to his afternoon classes. Realizing that he was out of time, the younger brother took a deep breath.

"Kagome's best friend Sango is dating Miroku who is my _only_ friend at this _stupid_ school, so far," he explained in a rush, "And if I am mean to her, then Sango said she would rip off my… I mean, it would make things incredibly awkward between us."

Expression serene, Sesshoumaru implied his disinterest in all of his half-brother's affairs. Just because the boy was incapable of befriending decent people was no reason for such subterfuge. Besides, the tables had been turned. He had a full _hour_ of free time now, during lunch, in which to wait for an apology. The act of burdening elder brothers with hormonal, coffee-stealing, crazed high-school girls should be outlawed.

"Crap," Inuyasha acknowledged in a surly tone, "You have no mercy. I forgot. I just thought that if _anyone_ knew what it felt like to have no friends, it would be _you_. Nevermind."

Stomping his way down the stairs, Inuyasha left his brother behind on the roof.

Frozen into stillness, Sesshoumaru stared after his half-brother in a daze. Morbidly, the words circled through his mind once more. _I thought_ , the words whispered into his ear, as if Inuyasha was still standing right beside him, _If anyone knew what it felt like to have no friends, it would be you._

Had his little brother really just pronounced some of the most heart-rending words that he had ever heard… as an accidental after-thought? Yes. Yes, it seemed he had. The boy had spoken lightly, without rancor, like it was one of their normal, brotherly insults. Somehow, Inuyasha did not actually know how nasty this comment would sound.

But now, the words would not leave him alone.

Technically, Sesshoumaru realized, his half-brother was correct. He didn't _have_ any friends. Not really. Not any _good_ ones. The people in kendo club looked up to him, and they spoke often. Plus, he conversed with students in his class. Maybe he was allowed to count friendly acquaintances as 'friends'? Or was that bending the rules?

Damn. If his plight was so obvious that even his half-brother had noticed, then he must appear desperately dreary.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As a result of their conversation on the roof of the school, Sesshoumaru did not say anything to the girl about his brother. This was not out of respect for Inuyasha, or pity, per se. As the eldest son of the family, Sesshoumaru knew that he had a responsibility to uphold their family name and clarify any dishonest confusion that his little brother had caused. But… by the end of the day, when the last bell rang, he had decided it was time for Inuyasha to start learning responsibility too. There was no way that he could take care of _all_ of the younger boy's problems.

The fact that he recalled how pitiful Inuyasha had seemed, this had nothing to do with his decision, of course. And the issue was definitely, absolutely, _not even remotely_ correlated to the fact that Sesshoumaru was in a similar situation to his brother. This was purely a tactical decision – not an emotional one – he was implicitly teaching Inuyasha the importance of honesty and bravery in adverse circumstances.

Satisfied with this determination (however untrue it might be), he finished his homework in the library, since there were no extra-curricular activities that day, and then headed off to his night classes. With university entrance exams coming up, all of the older students were beginning to feel pressured, but ironically, Sesshoumaru felt too distracted tonight to worry. Cram school was easier than dealing with human relationships, in some ways.

Perhaps he could simply view his problematic lack of friends as a homework assignment. He would talk to some of the kinder, more laid-back people that he knew in his club, and he would simply… begin to _like_ them more. If he liked other people and they liked him in return, then it meant they were friends. Right?

Rubbing his forehead, he glared at his desk. Of all the stupid things in the world to obsess over, why this? It wasn't that important. Certainly, it was not urgent enough to chew up the rest of his day, by pondering what his half-brother had said, over and over again.

Yet he could not stop. And it was driving him crazy! Really, Inuyasha should apologize for…

With a mental sigh, he realized that this problem clearly went deeper than he had first suspected. A few days ago, he had been overflowingly happy at the idea that Kikyou liked him, only to feel horribly disappointed when she was not the girl at the tennis courts. And once he began thinking about his fellow class-representative as a potential love-interest, he felt dissatisfied and irritable upon seeing her around another man, even from a distance. Instead of _ignoring_ an innocent mistake, like a normal human being, he had started to obsess over it. Now, he was doing the same thing, over a remarkably similar issue.

When the evening class ended, he stepped onto the darkened street and trudged home, dispirited. Moping about something that he could not change, and then brooding over the fact that he was moping in the first place – honestly, this behavior was ridiculous. He knew it. But he could not fix it.

Thus, by the time he reached home, his mood was dark and sullen. And perhaps, if Rin, or even his father Touga, could have been the first person that Sesshoumaru saw, then his dismal mood would have evaporated like steam. Unfortunately, however, the first person he encountered was his stepmother. His newest stepmother. A member of a category of persons that he loathed on principle.

Yura was leaning backward on a counter in the kitchen, riffling through small paper bills, when he entered the room. Dropping his bag on the floor, he watched as she flinched slightly, noticing him for the first time. The momentary look of surprise on her face immediately transformed into a loathsome smirk, when she recognized him, and a feeling of apprehension slid down the back of his neck, even before she opened her mouth.

Sure enough, he did not like what she had to say, or the sugary sweet tone with which she conveyed it. "I notice, _son_ , that you seem to carry around a _lot_ of cash, in your wallet," smiled the short-haired, abhorrent creature in front of him. "Is it wise for a young man to wander around with so much money?"

His mind went blank with anger. This woman had been going through his wallet? Just because he had not brought it to school, that did not give her permission to search through his possessions!

The disappointment and restlessness that he had felt, after Inuyasha's careless comment, abruptly solidified into hatred. The hatred must have begun to drip from his gaze, visibly, since her attitude changed, yet again. "I was only trying to say," Yura backpedaled, "That it would be unwise to waste your Father's money."

"Then, perhaps _you_ should put it down," he hissed, striding forward predatorily. "For every second it is contact with your skin, it looses value."

"Now, Sesshoumaru…" the woman said, her tone pretentious.

As the distance between them shrank, he interrupted her icily. "Yes. Right now."

Yura's eyes grew wide, then narrowed with anger, and she threw down the bills she held. And as she stalked out of the kitchen, even Sesshoumaru fully understood that this marked the beginning of a war.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Characters trademarked by Rumiko Takahashi – technically I'm not using anything other than character appearance and basic personality traits to write this story.

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 4:**

"So…" mentioned his half-brother nonchalantly, as they sat in the library the next day, "You decided not to be an asshole, then?"

With the way his arms crossed behind his head, Inuyasha looked effortlessly uncaring. Except for the giant flaw in his posture, which was immediately obvious to Sesshoumaru. No one posed like this, leaning back in a chair – without a care in the world – unless trying to look that way.

Sesshoumaru declined to give an intelligible reply. "Hn."

Apparently, this helped his little brother realize that verbalization was an important skill. "You said that you would tell the chick what I really meant and take the blame for me, but unexpectedly decided to change your mind at the last minute, and not tell her?"

"You sound disappointed."

Blushing, his half-brother uncrossed his arms and glared, resettling his chair on the ground with a thump. "Not disappointed," Inuyasha scowled, "I just thought that she already doesn't like you, so it would be easy for you to say that I… didn't actually… like her."

A long pause ensued, while the elder brother cringed, trying to figure out if his younger brother was really, truly, positively this… hopeless. Why would it be easier for Sesshoumaru to break up with Inuyasha's girlfriend, than for _Inuyasha_ to take this action? Headaches were designed for situations like these.

"I can't tell her that, don't you see?" continued Inuyasha, emphasizing the first half of his phrase by slapping both palms down on the table, "It would be mean!"

The sunlight through the windows was pleasant, but it did not help illuminate a reason for Inuyasha's concern. Blankly, Sesshoumaru contemplated the meaning (if there was any) behind his brother's statement. If it was 'mean' to be honest with a girl, and Inuyasha did not want to be cruel, then…

"You _do_ like the girl?" he inquired next.

"No!" wailed his half-brother, drawing immediate censure from the librarian for his loud tone. After a quiet moment, Inuyasha tried again in a more subdued fashion. "Sango likes Kagome, and Miroku likes Sango, and I'm friends with Miroku. I explained this to you already, okay?"

"Ah."

"Well?"

"Mm, you should explain that to her," pondered Sesshoumaru, completely and totally lacking any insight as to why this was such a difficult conversation. "Tell her that you want to befriend her, not date her?"

With a growl, the boy pushed back his chair and rose to leave. Sauntering out of the library without a care in the world was difficult, though, when distress pervaded one's countenance. Inuyasha seemed to be leaking distress like a physical presence behind him in the air.

Finally, Sesshoumaru took pity on his brother. Er… not pity. It was… Damn it. Okay, fine. It was pity. But that didn't mean he cared about his brother, who was still just as annoying as ever, especially now that the brat had decided to forcibly involve his elder brother in this mad scheme.

Gathering his books, he exited the room and quickly caught up with his half-brother. "You want her to realize that _she_ does not like _you_ ," Sesshoumaru asked calmly, "Instead of the other way around?"

When Inuyasha turned around, the gleam of relief in his gaze was almost frightening. Obviously, that had been the answer the brat had hoped for all along. How to achieve this solution on his brother's behalf, though? That was still a bit puzzling.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once again, Sesshoumaru was _not_ studying, because he was busy worrying about personal problems. But today, at least, he was worrying about his half-brother's lack of a love-life rather than his own dismal, friendless existence. Perhaps hopelessness ran in the family, and both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had simply manifested this in a different way than their father? Or perhaps he was allowing himself to get morose and depressive over nothing…

Shaking his head to dismiss his earlier concerns, Sesshoumaru glared at his notebook, before deciding that he should use it to solve his current dilemma. So far, he had taken absolutely no notes that evening, nor had he completed any homework. But the notebook might still be helpful, since he was accustomed to writing his thoughts down to organize them.

Inuyasha's goal was to force the crazy, coffee-stealing wench to realize she did not want to date him. On the other hand, Sesshoumaru's goal was to ensure that his half-brother learned from this experience, and became a more honest, honorable person. Surely, these two goals were not incompatible.

First, he could simply tell the girl the truth – Inuyasha did not want to date her, but he was too cowardly to say so himself. While this would clearly achieve Inuyasha's goal – it would not help Sesshoumaru, because it would simply inspire his half-brother to hate him even more. Moreover, the girl might not even believe Sesshoumaru, given what his half-brother had said to her about his character. Finally, telling Higurashi the truth, even if she _did_ believe it, this would only encourage her gullibility. The girl had to learn how to discover the truth on her own, not blindly accept what other people told her. So, it was an unacceptable solution.

So, what else could he do? Maybe he could encourage his brother to do ridiculous things in front of her, thereby ensuring that she would despise him? For some reason, though, it was hard to think of ways to _emphasize_ his half-brother's stupidity.

He could tell the boy to start wearing nothing but pink, perhaps. Or Inuyasha could ensure that whenever he laughed, he sounded maniacal. Or Inuyasha could begin telling long, embarrassing childhood stories, or he could start a web-site that…

No, this was hopeless. Violently crossing potential ideas off his list, Sesshoumaru angrily stared at the paper below his hand. After a full page of scribbling, his mind was still blank, even though the paper was not. Realizing he could not force his half-brother to do anything, he tore the page out of his notebook and threw it into the trash.

All those solutions rested upon his half-brother's actions. Better to exaggerate the boy's existing, negative traits. For instance, Inuyasha was impatient, often late, and he did badly in school. Perhaps Sesshoumaru could emphasize these traits, somehow, in front of the Higurashi girl?

Higurashi had to make her own decisions. And Sesshoumaru had to ensure the decisions she made were the proper ones. Rubbing his forehead with one hand, the pale-haired boy stared at his notebook once more.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the only solution was to push them toward each other. Then, stand back and watch the fallout. It might be amusing. Tormenting his half-brother was usually a pleasant idea. But this time, he felt unsettled by the thought of Kagome Higurashi and Inuyasha… together. Even if it was only for a brief amount of time.

Did this disturb him, because she resembled Kikyou so greatly?

But Kagome was not Kikyou. Furthermore, Kikyou was dating someone else, anyway. It didn't matter. And he really had to stop thinking about his fellow class-representative. Immediately.

Growling at himself for being foolish, Sesshoumaru focused on the plan, failing to hear tiny footsteps that scuffled behind him. At last, a tiny throat cleared behind his head, and he turned to see Rin, tightly gripping her favorite stuffed bear against her chest. His step-sister wriggled from one foot to the other, then climbed onto his lap.

"Rin wonders if…" mumbled the petite nine-year old, "If she could skip eating the shrimp in her o-bento, every day, even though the teachers say it is important to finish all the food?"

He frowned. "Does it taste bad? Why would you want to skip it?"

"No, it's just boring. Everything is the same. There's only rice, and shrimp," Rin pointed out, helpfully. "The other kids have lots of different kinds of food."

Embarrassment trickled down his spine, as Sesshoumaru realized that he was really, truly not the best chef in the world – at least, when it came to making school-lunches for nine-year olds. He could not make many dishes, at all. He had simply perfected the few recipes that he knew, figuring school was more important than learning how to prepare food. Yet allowing his little sister to be disappointed by something so trivial, so soon after her mother's death, this was terrible! Asako had always kept her daughter happy, so Sesshoumaru vowed to do no less.

"Tomorrow," nodded the oldest sibling, congenially, "You'll have something different."

And just like that, the answer to his problem fell into his lap. He could push Higurashi toward Inuyasha, under the guise of _selfishness_ , instead of altruism. It would be more in character, anyway.

Sesshoumaru was not excited about assisting his half-brother. The girl would probably fail to believe him, if he claimed to be concerned about their non-existent relationship. But he could offer her a 'date' with his half-brother, in return for o-bento box lunches! For a week. No, for a month. Or more.

Yes, that sounded very promising. Provided she was a good chef, of course. Maybe he would have to eat the first lunch personally, to test it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day, there was no difficulty finding the girl. In fact, she approached him, with fire in her eyes, only to be shocked when Sesshoumaru appeared pleased to see her.

This time, Higurashi had come alone, without a friend trailing along behind her. When he slipped his arm through hers, dragging her away from the lunchroom, she protested vehemently.

"Hey! What are you…"

"I owe you an apology. As you say, I have been too hard on Inuyasha," smiled Sesshoumaru. The strain it placed on his cheeks was dreadful, but it clearly captured her attention. At the moment, the girl looked slightly frightened.

Hmm. No, wait. Inspiring fear was not his goal, here. Even if his smile was fake, he had not anticipated that it would be... _scary_.

With a sigh, he decided to skip the pleasantries. "You think that I want to steal my brother's chance at happiness. This is not true. I only want to ensure that he has… adequate…"

"I have to get to class, you know." Unthreading her arm from his, the dark-haired girl scurried toward her classroom.

Wide-eyed, Sesshoumaru internally flailed for balance. Honestly, women should not be allowed to move that quickly. Although he was trying to phrase his request, in a positive way, she refused to listen to him, even for a few minutes! Civility was clearly lost on this girl. Deciding that he would no longer attempt to explain his idea in a reasonable fashion, he marched after her. He would simply tell her the plan.

"In return for a hundred box-lunches," growled Sesshoumaru, getting straight to the point, "I can set you up on a date, with Inuyasha."

Slowly, the blue-eyed girl turned and stared at him, completely nonplussed. After a moment of contemplation, Higurashi asked, "Are you completely out of your mind? You want me to make _you_ lunch, in return for… And what makes you think I need your help to get a date with Inuyasha?! "

Sesshoumaru tilted his head to one side, considering his companion carefully. "Ah, I see," he nodded, "Then, you have already succeeded in this endeavor."

A bright, cherry-colored hue overtook her cheeks, violently fast.

"I fail to see how that is any of your business!" she quipped. He was reminded of their first meeting. Somehow, he had a talent for dragging this particular comment from her lips.

With a smirk, the light-haired upperclassman reclaimed the upper hand. "I was merely attempting to offer my congratulations."

She narrowed her eyes, propping her hands on her hips. "Oh? _Sure_ , you were."

Unfortunately for her, however, studied blankness was one of Sesshoumaru's trademark looks. He graced her with it, now, and her resistance crumbled. It had only been a few days since she first tried to ask Inuyasha on a date. And the man in front of her _was_ Inuyasha's brother. He would probably know the truth behind her situation.

"A hundred o-bento?" she groused, "That is ridiculous. How about _one_? One lunch, upon the condition that you are never, ever allowed to relate to anyone else… who made it."

"Fifty," grinned Sesshoumaru, probably enjoying her capitulation far more than was healthy. Bargaining was a useful life skill, and hard to practice in a modern marketplace.

"Fifty?!" she shrieked. "That's as bad as one-hundred! Bring some lunch money!"

"What makes you think that I will eat them?"

Blinking at him in puzzlement, the blue-eyed girl trailed after him, down the hallway, as he slowly journeyed toward his locker. "Wha- … Why do you need o-bento, then?"

"I fail to see…" drawled the third-year student, in amusement, "How that is any of your business."

Meanwhile, Kagome seemed to have developed a permanent blush. "Fine," she responded, frowning. "One week."

"Forty days."

"Two weeks!"

"One month, and that is my last offer."

"Agh! Fine!" squeaked Kagome, "But I demand more than one date with your brother! If I am doing this much work for you, then you owe me dates with Inuyasha all during that month, whenever I ask!"

Nodding complacently, he agreed to her terms. They worked out the minor details, such as when and where the lunches would be delivered – early in the morning, obviously. He needed to store the box lunch in one of the school refrigerators every day, so that Rin's food did not spoil while it waited for her. After all, the lunches would be made two days in advance, instead of one.

The downside was that both of them would need to arrive at school quite early every day. But while Higurashi complained about her misfortune, Sesshoumaru just smiled. (Sincerely, this time.) Like magic, he had bought himself an extra month, in which to learn how to make appropriate lunches for Rin, ones that his step-sister would enjoy.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The rest of the week flew by. The third-year student found himself more bewildered and stressed, each day.

He had delivered the first of Kagome's home-made meals to his little sister, only three days after she originally requested 'new' and 'different' types of food. And Rin returned that evening, miraculously impressed with his new talent.

She had been bored of rice and shrimp, and his attempts at making tempura the next day had failed miserably. Personally, Sesshoumaru had thought that it would be easy to tell he was no longer the one preparing her lunch-box. But he was shocked to discover that Rin did not notice. She merely complimented his new skill.

Chagrined, he had thanked her for the compliment. Then, his guilt forced him to help her with homework. He was not used to denying praise – furthermore, he could not rightfully admit to the nine-year old that he had _abandoned_ making her lunches – but allowing Rin to be misled by a lie, this was almost as bad as simply telling her he did not make anything! How to explain that he was simply training, for a month, learning how to make delicious lunches, while a complete stranger prepared her food? Hm… No. He couldn't admit that.

Meanwhile, his o-bento-making assistant had demanded a date with Inuyasha that very weekend!

Suddenly, his earlier idea did not seem so fantastic anymore. Sesshoumaru had not figured out how to coerce his half-brother into a 'real' date, with the infamous Kagome Higurashi. However, he had promised to meet her that Saturday, at noon, and to show her where Inuyasha was waiting. Now, if only he could con his half-brother into wasting time at a popular, semi-romantic, date-location...

Unfortunately, when he asked Inuyasha to go to the movies that Saturday, his half-brother had asserted an annoying streak. The brat had refused. Honestly! Sesshoumaru hadn't tried to dictate _which_ movie his brother could watch – he had simply listed a place and a time. But as long as Inuyasha refused to go to the theater, this 'date' had to be scrapped.

Moving on to (hopefully) greener pastures, Sesshoumaru quickly invented other possible date scenarios into which he could drag his ignorant half-brother. Subsequently, Inuyasha denied needing items from the mall, wanting to eat at an outdoor café for lunch, or secretly hoping for a trip to the arcade. He had refused an offer of a free trip to an amusement park, a regular park, or even a local museum. In fact, by the end of the discussion, a terrorized gleam had overtaken Inuyasha's eyes.

"Why the f- are you suddenly trying to hang out with me, bastard?!" he had protested strongly, "I'm playing a video game, later, with Miroku!"

Thus, their weekend activity was chosen. At noon, as promised, Sesshoumaru arrived at the schoolyard and escorted Kagome to his house, deftly avoiding all inquiries concerning Inuyasha. Meanwhile, huge chunks of guilt started to weigh down his conscience like heavy bricks. A curse upon his half-brother! The girl had chosen a cute dress and matching shoes, for the imaginary _date_ which she believed she was _about to have_. And Inuyasha only wanted to play a stupid video game?

And Rin believed that _he_ was the one making her o-bento boxes.

And Kagome was beginning to shuffle her feet, nervously, as she sat beside him on the train. Probably due to the fact that he was refusing to answer any of her guilt-inducing questions.

Stupidity wasn't a contagious disease, or something, was it?

Grinding his teeth, Sesshoumaru silently vowed to buy them a nice lunch, if she could succeed in getting his half-brother off the couch.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Naturally, Kagome succeeded in getting Inuyasha off the sofa, merely by appearing in the living room. Sesshoumaru's panicked brother shot to his feet, the instant she entered, and he tripped backward over the armrest of the seat. In the background, the noise of the video-game paused.

Calmly, Miroku looked up from his perch on the sofa. "Wow, Kagome!" the violet-eyed boy exclaimed, with a pleasant grin. "I didn't know you were coming over. It's good to see you!"

Inuyasha merely sputtered.

Hn… This was blatantly obvious. There was no way that she would believe him, now. Why, o why, did his little brother behave like this girl was going to assassinate him? Inuyasha should have said 'hello' or something like that, instead of completely falling to pieces. Then, it would have seemed like he was playing a video-game to pass the time while he waited for her to arrive. But now, it was quite clear that he never expected to see her, at all.

Of course, Kagome glared daggers over her shoulder at the eldest brother in the Inuhito family. "I meant a _real_ date, you jerk!" she hissed, "He didn't even know I was coming over, did he?"

At her comment, the other two began to stare. Miroku looked especially interested in the fact that a girl believed she would be having a 'date' with someone in the room. Perhaps the misguided youth hoped that she meant himself, instead of Inuyasha?

With a sigh, Sesshoumaru took Kagome's hand and dragged her into the kitchen. The room was empty and far enough from the living room that they could avoid being overheard. On the other hand, the kitchen was closer to the carving knives... He made sure to stand between the girl and any potential weapons, because by the time he released her, she was spitting mad and looked ready to boil a tea-kettle on her head.

He watched her temper rise, in fascination. Surely, he had not made her this angry, merely by a… good-natured… trick? Well, all right, perhaps it had not been good-natured. Technically, he was using her to prepare o-bento lunches for Rin, and she honestly thought she should obtain something in return.

Quickly, Sesshoumaru came up with a plan to pacify her. Claiming this was an actual, honest-to-goodness date would stretch the limits of comprehension, but he was willing to fiddle with the definition of the word a bit. "This is a first step, you see?" he murmured, warily backing away from his irate companion. "A date is a social activity between two people, not only a romantic venture."

"I'm not trying to date _Miroku_ ," Kagome spat, in return. "If you want someone to make your food, ask someone else! This is ridiculous!"

"The first step in a good relationship is to spend time together, doing normal activities," he continued slowly, "You do not wish to get to know Inuyasha, better, as a person?"

Her blush deepened, and Sesshoumaru belatedly realized that the color in her cheeks signified frustration, not only embarrassment. "Fine!" shouted the blue-eyed teenager, stomping one foot on the kitchen tiles. "Your point is made! If I want to date Inuyasha, then I ask him _myself_. I understand that now! You are useless."

"No, I meant…" he began, trying to salvage the situation. But it was too late, and Kagome marched out of the room without looking back.

As she returned to the living room, where Miroku and Inuyasha waited, he sensed the situation had just slipped out of his hands. The waters would close over his head, at this rate. Blinking absently, he wondered how she could have drawn such a mystifying conclusion from his actions, that day. He had meant well. And a date _was_ a social activity, not just a romantic venture! If she did not know Inuyasha already, then she should spend time with him, before rushing into a relationship. First things first!

In the background, he overheard a loud declaration. "Inuyasha! You and I… We're dating. Got it?"

"O-okay…" mumbled his half-brother, crumbling in the face of her vehemence and Miroku's presence.

And at last, Sesshoumaru understood exactly _why_ his half-brother had seemed so intimidated by this girl. She possessed a very strong spirit, to be sure.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I'm sorry! I am absentminded without a poor short term memory! I forgot to update this story. I just forget everything. Luckily, someone emailed me a message to remind me. : ( Here is the next chapter, after edit.**

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 5:**

Leaning casually against the doorframe of the living room, he reminded his chosen victim of their deal. "Congratulations," he remarked flatly, refusing to let the amusement show. "However, you still have a promise to fulfill with me."

She wheeled about, eyes wide in shock. "What?"

Well, now. He brought her to his home, allowing her to enter into a relationship with his little brother. For all intents and purposes, he _had_ fulfilled his half of the bargain. More or less. Although the girl brazenly asserted that she and Inuyasha were dating, Sesshoumaru was still the one who initiated this opportunity.

He raised one brow, thoughtfully. "An honorable warrior does not have a double tongue," he quipped. Perhaps a well-known idiom would help remind her of their deal.

"Oooh! Don't you dare quote proverbs at me, you… you… Lunch Nazi!" she squealed, furiously. By this time, both boys in front of the television sat up straight, peering over the edge of the sofa for a better view. Never one to be outdone, Kagome replied with a proverb of her own. "Eggs and vows are both easily broken!"

"The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour."

"Um…" she furrowed her brow and pursed her lips, trying to think of another familiar saying, by which she could 'win' their impromptu argument. "Like… like… a frog knows the inside of a well!"

"That one," said Sesshoumaru, "It wasn't even remotely on topic."

"Agh!"

From his seat on the sofa, Inuyasha melted against the cushions and covered his face with one of the pillows, obviously wondering whether his older brother had just gone insane, or whether that dubious honor should go to both siblings. Why else would he have agreed to date this crazy girl?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Time passed. Despite her protests, Kagome continued to make o-bento boxes for him, and Sesshoumaru continued to quietly pass them along to Rin. However, it was the only portion of his existence that had become easier in the last week. The rest of his life quickly spiraled downhill.

Yura – also known as the Stepmother of Doom, the Wicked Witch, and the Compulsive Liar Who Simply Would Not Quit – started to cause problems. Usually, Sesshoumaru did not attach too many mental nicknames to people, but this woman deserved to be disparaged. He definitely did not approve of her.

It was the opening act of their private war. Why? The woman had lied about him!

Well, no. Perhaps she did not lie. But Yura had implied that he had a treacherous nature.

Money had mysteriously disappeared from his father's wallet. While the older man searched for it, she had mentioned offhandedly that _Sesshoumaru_ certainly carried enough cash – perhaps Touga could _borrow_ some? Given the circumstances, it was an unacceptable comment, and his respect for the deceitful witch had plummeted. (Not that Sesshoumaru's estimation of her was very high, earlier.)

The dirty, underhanded remark did its job, too. Father didn't really believe what Yura had implied, but he had still _asked_ whether Sesshoumaru knew where his cash had gone.

Furiously, Sesshoumaru began to ponder ways to destroy his latest stepmother. Discrediting her would be the first step – after all, if money had disappeared from his Father's wallet, and Sesshoumaru did not take it, then who did? Clearly, she was the one at fault here. He was not a dishonorable person, and even Inuyasha was not the type of son who would steal money! Yura, with all of her accusations and deceitful suggestions, was the worst stepmother yet.

This morning, he had awoken early, in order to confront her. Yet his evil stepmother (version #3) had slept late. It was the weekend, again, and Saturday entailed a large breakfast for anyone that cared to consume one. (Usually just the children.) After cleaning the pan, silverware, and plates in the kitchen, Sesshoumaru dragged his books to the kitchen table, where he could keep an eye on the front door. Yura would not slip by him.

Still, by noon, the woman had not woken up. It was as if she was _trying_ to annoy him, even in the smallest ways. Grinding his teeth together, the third-year student finished his assignments for the weekend, just as his Father walked into the room.

"Ah?" murmured Touga sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "You are working in here, today! Normally, you hide in your room and I never see you."

Sesshoumaru blinked, wondering what his father meant by that. It sounded almost critical, yet the man delivered the statement with such a light, mirthful tone that he obviously intended no harm. With a curt nod, the eldest son began to pack up his books.

Perhaps the reason why he felt so frustrated this morning was the clock. Since when did adults wander into the kitchen for breakfast _after noon_? It led to the obvious question – what was his Father doing to stay up so late? – but Sesshoumaru did not want to consider this. Anything involving Yura was an unpleasant thought.

"No, don't rush off!" ordered Touga, pushing him back into the chair. Then, the old man sent him an odd look. "You aren't leaving because of me, are you?"

Silently, he shook his head. No, he was not angry with his Father about this turn of events. In the end, all the blame went to his stepmother.

"All right," Touga murmured, unconvinced. "I do enjoy seeing you…"

How strange, he thought. It was like they were on different subjects. Mentally, Sesshoumaru hovered over the topic of Yura, money, and deception, while Father was totally unable to comprehend how awfully the woman behaved.

"Where is Inuyasha?" inquired his father, with an easy smile. "I have good news for both of you!"

Tone clipped and reserved, Sesshoumaru replied. "He left."

"Oh…" Running one hand through gradually greying hair, Touga frowned. "Well, I remembered how anxious you seemed, earlier in the week, when I needed to borrow some... cash... from you. And I know I have not given you any 'allowance' money in a while. To be honest, since Yura is not working, it is difficult to manage the finances, lately..."

A sinking feeling of dread started to worm its way into Sesshoumaru's chest. Something told him that this 'good' news would be anything but good. Unfortunately, blocking out the words would not invalidate them. He would have to listen to whatever came next.

"So! Yesterday, Yura and I realized how to solve two problems at once!" Touga continued happily. "You and Inuyasha both deserve some spending money, and responsibility is also important. I've decided to cut off your allowance, completely. Both of you should get part-time jobs, instead."

Sesshoumaru nearly smacked his forehead against the wood, as he dropped his head toward the table. Oh, of course. A part-time job always made life easier!

"Oh, don't act that way!" crowed Father merrily. "It isn't so bad. I worked in a butcher's shop at your age."

 _And how am I supposed to find time for this?_ Sesshoumaru mused without a sound. He was already in charge of the kendo-club, on the student council, attending cram-school almost every night of the week... Having a job would eat up his weekends, too. There would be no time left for… for… anything! (Not that he ever did anything with his free time, except read or exercise.)

"You are overreacting," Touga continued, as though he could hear the thoughts inside his son's head. "Perhaps I've been too generous over the years, and you kids are used to getting whatever you want without effort. Responsibility and a tight-schedule, those are good! They build character."

At moments like this, he forgot the joy of having a parent, feeling rather murderous instead. Since the old man had entered the kitchen, Sesshoumaru had spoken a total of two – only _two_ – words. In what way did he ask for this kind of torture?

But, no. He could not remain angry with Father. This was Yura's fault, as well. The wicked witch had seeded this idea into his brain, by telling Touga that it was not _normal_ for a teen to carry such a large amount of cash. By telling Touga that responsibility brought _character_. Father had mentioned that _both_ Yura and he were responsible for coming to this solution. And that meant Yura had started it!

Lifting his head off the table, he shouldered his bag. "I will inform Inuyasha, when he returns from visiting his friends."

"No, I can…"

"It's fine," Sesshoumaru announced flatly, a hint of steel in his tone. "I will handle it." His father deflated slightly under his gaze, seeming to realize that his eldest son was an uncontrollable force, sometimes. Finally, Touga nodded, then watched him leave the room with a worried gaze.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He arrived at school by half-past six o'clock in the morning, the next Monday. Fury simmered inside of him, making it easy to wake up that morning. Late on Sunday night, he had finally been able to confront Yura, but the woman had laughed off his concerns. At first, she had claimed to play no part in Father's decision. But then, immediately afterward, she had asserted how important it was to inspire a work-ethic in young boys – and how nice it would be to have them out of the house on the weekends!

What kind of a comment was that? It would be nice to have the house to herself, on the weekends? While both Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were forced to obtain a part-time job?

Maybe _she_ needed the work-ethic, rather than innocent young teenagers. Sneering at his locker and roughly shoving his textbooks into the tiny space, Sesshoumaru tried to remain calm.

Seriously, if he ever caught that woman going through HIS wallet again – he would take the evidence straight to his old man and suggest that the true culprit had always been her. He would have done this already, except... it might make him look guilty of framing her. Two people pointing fingers at each other, in the midst of an argument, that never solved a problem. So, he had allowed the first offense to slide. But now, Yura had moved on to a second maneuver in her personal war against him. Part-time jobs!

Finally, he slumped to the ground, pulling his knees to his chest. He should not sit there, doing nothing. He knew it. Schoolwork never took care of itself. But Sesshoumaru could not bring himself to move.

After fifteen or twenty minutes, footsteps tapped lightly toward the lockers. Slowly, the third-year student stood. As he brushed off his pants, he guessed that it was Kagome, because they had arranged to deliver Rin's lunches around here. Sesshoumaru happily accepted them, then transported each o-bento to the student lounge. Being a class-representative had some perks, like the use of a refrigerator in the lounge.

To his surprise though, Kagome was not the one to arrive. It was still early in the day, after all. Instead, the one who walked around the corner was Kikyou.

"Oh!" gasped his classmate, startled by his sudden appearance. "I didn't see you there!"

Gently clearing his throat, Sesshoumaru moved out of her way. "My apologies," he said, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's not a problem," she murmured politely.

Then, as if the conversation had completely and utterly died, his classmate reached for her locker without another word. The look in her eyes was strange this morning. As the panic quickly faded from her gaze, Kikyou seemed even more distant and cold than usual.

As usual, Sesshoumaru found himself unexpectedly fascinated by her. It really wasn't fair. The back of someone's head shouldn't be considered interesting. And yet he could not look away. His heartbeat accelerated and it was not because he had been startled by her presence. After all, he had been expecting someone – just not Kikyou.

Desperately trying to think of something to say, he inquired, "Are you always here so early?" It was a dull, insipid comment, but it was the best he could do on short notice.

"Yes, usually," she agreed congenially. However, the raven haired beauty did not turn to face him. "Although today, I think I am _too_ early…"

One hand traitorously displayed his unease, ruffling through his hair, as Sesshoumaru realized what this might mean. If she had nothing else to do, then he might sit with Kikyou for the next hour, before class. This would be a priceless opportunity to get to know more about her, without seeming intrusive.

"That is only because you are such a hard worker," he stated firmly. Compliments helped warm people up, he reasoned, opening them to the idea of speaking further. Besides, he wasn't lying. He did admire his classmate. "It made me happy to know what great people there are at this school."

But the praise seemed to roll right off her shoulders. Kikyou seemed stressed and sad, today. She hardly paid attention. "Hmm? Oh. No, there are lots of good students."

As she closed her locker, Kikyou shouldered her bag, carefully extricating long hair from the strap over her shoulder. Sesshoumaru stepped forward to assist her and then backward again in embarrassed hesitation. Touching her without permission might seem rude.

Before he could do much else, a boisterous yell echoed through the hall. "Ah! Lunch Nazi!" shouted Kagome, from a few yards behind his head. "You beat me to school, again!"

The first-year girl had recently entered the building, and when he glanced in her direction, she _waved_ – as if anyone could have overlooked her, after the racket that she made a moment ago. By the time Sesshoumaru focused on Kikyou once more, the dark-haired senior was heading toward their classroom alone. Walking away, without saying goodbye… Completely forgetting about him…

Hastily, he grabbed his pack and reached out a hand to stop her from leaving. "Wait, Kikyou!" he protested, "If you want, I can walk with you…"

"Hey, hey! Don't ignore me," persisted the perky first-year girl behind him. "I brought your o-bento!"

His heart seized up in his chest, the moment he realized how this made him sound. Girls typically only prepared lunch for a guy, if they liked him, or they were dating. A wry smile graced Kikyou's cheeks, and Sesshoumaru knew that he had been misunderstood.

Quietly, Kikyou shook her head and declined his offer. Somehow, yet another aspect of his life had just snowballed out of control. Sesshoumaru shivered, feeling cold and dejected. He could run after Kikyou and convince her that he was not dating Kagome... but to what purpose? It wouldn't change anything. Kikyou was involved with another man, the one he saw outside the schoolyard a while ago. And he didn't want to insult Kagome by leaving without a word.

With a sigh, he turned to face the younger girl. She smiled brightly. "You have butterfly-shaped onigiri today," chirped Kagome, oblivious to Sesshoumaru's distress.


	7. Chapter 6

**No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 6:**

Needless to say, both siblings were extremely ticked off with Yura after the news. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru did not agree often, so this was a notable event. Accordingly, although there was no deadline by which they had to acquire a part-time position, both of them uncovered job-openings within the first week. That way no one could claim they slacked off. Furthermore, it made the task seem easy. Why not emphasize the fact that even high-school kids could easily obtain work? It emphasized how _little_ their latest stepmother ever accomplished.

Inuyasha begged for a posting with his friends. After hearing that Miroku's family ran a small, local delicatessen, the boy wheedled his way into (what he considered) an easy spot. Because Miroku's father often described the deli like a "hole in his palm" siphoning money away from the household, Inuyasha interpreted this as a sign. No one would ever walk through the door! Otherwise, the store wouldn't lose so much money. And if no one shopped there, then Inuyasha could spend time chatting with his buddy, Miroku, instead of working.

Ironically, Sesshoumaru had a similar goal, while searching for a part-time job. Again, this was notable, because the two sons of the Inuhito family rarely ever agreed. But the eldest son thought his half-brother had a good idea – if the part-time job was easy, then he would not need to spend a great deal of time on it, and he could devote more time to schoolwork. With college-entrance exams looming around the corner, none of the third-year students had time to waste.

Thus, he had secured a position in the same manner as his brother. No, no! He had not begged for any specific job. He merely asked various acquaintances to assist him in this endeavor, such as the other members of the student council. As it turned out, one boy had a grandfather who ran a rare bookstore.

All in all, it sounded like a perfect part-time job. Sesshoumaru loved books, and he spent most of his time reading historical fiction, when he was not digging through textbooks. Plus, a rare bookstore might sell antiques or unusual, educational materials! So, he had been overjoyed to find the store needed part-time helpers. The elderly owner of the store, Totosai, could not move around quite the way he used to, and Sesshoumaru would be able to lift books for him, to and from top shelves. He was due to arrive early the next weekend, at around 10 o'clock.

At school, he noticed some positive changes too. Strangely enough, the Higurashi girl began to appear around him, more and more often. On Wednesday, Sesshoumaru finished lunch early, intending to head to the library to study, only to find her hovering at his locker. On Thursday, he discovered her watching the kendo-club practice, after class. On Friday, he gave in and asked her what was wrong.

"Oh, nothing," replied Kagome, scuffing the toe of her shoe in the dirt outside the building. "It's just…"

While he was glad to see her boisterous, intimidating tendencies suppressed, the reason why she might follow him around was puzzling. This shy behavior was not her typical nature. It had to stop.

When silence did not work, Sesshoumaru decided to try summarization. At times, this method successfully dragged the truth out of people who did not want to talk. Other people could not help _correcting_ him, if he said something inaccurate or untrue.

"You agreed to make lunch for thirty days, on my behalf," he began slowly, "If I would allow you to date Inuyasha."

The statement immediately threw her for a loop. "A-allow me?" she rejoined, in shock. "What do you mean…"

"And now you _are_ dating him," he cut her off, "Because you insisted upon doing so."

" _Insisted_ upon...?" her voice flew higher and became a notch louder. "Now, wait a minute!"

The goal had been to upset her, thereby forcing her usual spunky attitude to return. And it had worked. The girl was sure to reply now. Sesshoumaru smirked.

Stepping closer to his chest, she poked his shirt. "I didn't insist upon this crackpot deal of ours," Kagome growled. "That was your idea."

When she emerged from the shadow of the building, however, sunlight only highlighted the problem. Her expression looked drawn and worried, and little creases gathered near her lips, as though she had frowned more often than smiled, for the past week.

Catching her finger, as she poked at him, Sesshoumaru moved it gently away from his chest. "What is wrong?" he asked, more seriously this time.

She retreated a step and looked at the ground once again. "Well, I was simply wondering, that's all," she stated tersely. "Inuyasha agreed to date me, but he doesn't spend any more time with me than before, and he says he can't see me this weekend." By now, Kagome seemed nervous, fiddling with the straps on her bag. "So I was wondering… I was wondering if... if you could set up another date, between us?"

Sesshoumaru stared in shock. What on earth? This scenario was awkward on so many levels. By agreeing to assist her in dating his half-brother, perhaps he unwittingly agreed to become her love-advisor.

"It's only fair! I'm still making lunchboxes, for you," insisted Kagome. "Which means that you must arrange dates between Inuyasha and me. That was the deal."

He decided to ease her mind. Because he could. Not because he cared. Although maybe he cared about her distress just the tiniest bit.

"There is a reason why Inuyasha cannot spend time with you, this weekend," he explained, "He just started a part-time job. I'm sure it has nothing to do with you."

"He's not mad at me?" Kagome asked hopefully.

"No, certainly not." Sesshoumaru frowned. As if anyone could be angry with this girl. Even when she stole his coffee, he hadn't been able to feel angry with her.

Why he was making excuses for his half-brother's rude behavior? Originally, the plan was for this girl to realize that she did not _want_ Inuyasha, after all. Even more ironic – she needed Sesshoumaru to explain such a simple issue, instead of her so-called boyfriend. Was Inuyasha not capable of doing so himself?

"Oh, good!" Kagome exclaimed in relief. "I thought... well, nevermind. Thank you for telling me!"

Sesshoumaru nodded, awkwardly. Usually, when other people thanked him, it involved history essays or math homework. This was the first time someone had thanked him for advice on a relationship. He was not the best instructor on this subject. He had never even been on a date. Still, his reassurance seemed to cheer her up. And that made him feel better, as well.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The weekend passed, and he discovered that his part-time job was actually fun. Earning money for reading books – it was an excellent trade-off. The perfect part-time job!

The old man who owned the store was also rather amusing. Totosai was constantly forgetting his phrase, halfway through it. He drifted from conversation to conversation, from moment to moment, the way that only an absentminded, elderly man could.

The back room was probably the most interesting place, though. Not only did Sesshoumaru find rare, antique books in the store, but also, swords decorated the walls of the back room. Dual sword-sets on the top of every bookshelf formed eye-catching adornments.

Best of all, there were very few customers, and Sesshoumaru had the opportunity to study as much as he liked in the shop. It was glorious. He ended the weekend in a good mood.

Then… Monday afternoon came along and ruined it all.

Sitting in first period, he noticed that Kikyou seemed distracted. She was staring out the window, paying no attention in class. This was standard behavior from any other person, but for Kikyou to fail to listen to a teacher was an extremely bad sign. In fact, at one point it seemed as though his fellow class-representative almost fell asleep. It bothered Sesshoumaru to see her in such a state.

So, he touched her shoulder after class and asked if she was all right. It was the second time in only a few days in which he had inquired after a young girl's health, and he realized that he _cared_ to know the answer both times. How odd.

"What?" Kikyou murmured. Even now, she seemed inattentive and tired. Sesshoumaru imagined he could see dark circles forming beneath them, although these had not appeared yet. "Oh. I'm fine," she replied calmly.

It was not the first day that he had seen Kikyou behave in this fashion. She had been distracted and drained of energy before, he remembered, the same morning that Kagome interrupted their conversation to deliver a lunchbox. Worried, his eyes remained on Kikyou, even after the next teacher entered their classroom and began a new class. What could be troubling one of his friends so much that she acted tired and depressed, for days in a row?

When the lunch-hour arrived, Sesshoumaru resolved to find his classmate and speak to her more thoroughly. Obviously, the girl was not 'fine' and it might be helpful to provide a listening ear ... That was how these things were supposed to work. Right?

Yet he could not find Kikyou anywhere in the building. The cafeteria was filled with the usual, rowdy, rambunctious students. Next, he checked the gym, track and field, and the tennis courts, but he could not see the girl in any of these spots either.

Puzzled, Sesshoumaru made his way toward a spot that he considered a very _unlikely_ location. The roof. He had found his brother, up there, once. And the spot occasionally attracted other students, despite being rather hot, sunny, and inconvenient in his opinion. Today was no exception, and a flock of excitable teens had gathered on the flat-topped roof of the school, leaning against the fences that rimmed the area.

Unfortunately, not one of the students was Kikyou. He carefully checked the entire area. Not discouraged, Sesshoumaru resolved to continue his search elsewhere; perhaps the dark-haired girl was hiding in the student lounge, or she had returned to their empty classroom?

As he stepped onto the stairs, though, he recognized several voices. One of the voices belonged to his brother... which was strange, since this was _not_ Inuyasha's lunch-hour...

Irresponsible siblings who missed valuable class-time always deserved a reprimand from a figure of authority. And he was more than willing to take on this important role. (Secretly, he just enjoyed demoralizing his little brother.)

Returning to the roof, Sesshoumaru walked until he stood behind a pair of mischievous first-years. How often, he wondered, did Miroku and Inuyasha act like this? The violet-eyed boy looked up, smiling, only to realize who stood behind them, and the smile faded from his face.

"Wha-?" Inuyasha asked, voice half-muffled by food, his mouth full. Finally, the boy turned around to observe his elder sibling calmly standing there. His jaw hung open slightly, and Sesshoumaru avoided the view of mashed up food within his mouth by looking at the box-lunch, instead.

Hm. It looked rather familiar. The contents of Inuyasha's o-bento box resembled the same foods that he had been giving to Rin for a number of days now. "Does this... particular... lunch need to be consumed," Sesshoumaru inquired blandly, "Outside of the appointed midday hour that you have for lunch?"

Swallowing nervously, his brother squirmed. "Holy dog-balls. You are a bloodhound, after all. Seriously, you never, _ever_ come up onto the roof, except when I am missing class."

Sesshoumaru scowled, and his sibling appeared to realize that he should not advertise the fact that he skipped classes on purpose. "Wait! Um... It's Kagome's fault!" Inuyasha continued in an exasperated, desperate tone, "Yeah! She made the lunch, and she said that she wanted to hear what we thought of it. But how are we supposed to do that, if we don't eat it before meeting up with her after school?"

It was not difficult to maintain a vacant, expressionless gaze, when presented with such ridiculous comments as this. Why, oh why, did his younger brother do this every time? Inuyasha never quite made sense to him. Perhaps he didn't think normally like other human beings.

"You should eat lunch _with her_ ," he sighed, when it became clear that Inuyasha actually expected an answer, "During your lunch-hour."

"Right!" nodded his little brother eagerly, "But I thought - what if the food is terrible! We'll need to test it first, so we can 'fake' our enjoyment, if need be."

Tucking his hands into the pockets of his slacks and staring at the sky, Sesshoumaru did not reply. He knew perfectly well that the food Kagome produced was not terrible. Rin loved it. And he had tested the first one that she made, like his sibling chose to do now. But he could not exactly admit this to his little brother, could he?

Happily, Inuyasha ignored his silence. "It's really good, actually," murmured the younger brother, clutching the box close to his chest, as if Sesshoumaru might steal it away from him. Then, Inuyasha smirked. "Hah! Maybe it isn't so bad having a girlfriend. Even if she ain't attractive, she can cook!"

Miroku just laughed. Then, he snatched a vegetable roll from Inuyasha's box. The pale-haired boy shoved his friend's shoulder in response. They both seemed entirely too happy, in Sesshoumaru's opinion.

A small furrow worked its way onto his brow – not quite a frown, but something more than mere confusion – as Sesshoumaru stared at his brother again. He was perplexed. Something about his younger brother's comment and Miroku's laughter, they rubbed him the wrong way.

Kagome looked like Kikyou, and to be honest, both of them were... quite... charming. Yes, that was the proper word, wasn't it? Charming.

Or maybe beautiful. Beautiful might be a more descriptive term, for these two girls.

Maybe even gorgeous.

He tried to stop himself, but he was unable to avoid it. The question slipped out. "What do you mean, she is 'unattractive'?" he asked, gruffly.

Now, it was Inuyasha's turn to look appalled. Interpreting this question in exactly the wrong way, the younger boy gaped openly. "Wait, wait!" he protested. "You think that she... Oh my God, you really are trying to steal my girlfriend? I wasn't just making that up?"

Rolling his eyes, Sesshoumaru kicked his half-brother and unsettled the box-lunch in his lap, forcing Inuyasha to grab for it desperately. Rice-balls spilled onto the concrete. The youngest brother glared.

"Stop being stupid," Sesshoumaru said firmly.

"What's stupid about..."

"And don't skip class on purpose," he continued sternly. "It isn't as though your teachers fail to notice. Do you _enjoy_ detention?" It wasn't the most threatening thing he could say, but it sufficed. Both of the first-year students began to gather their belongings. Inuyasha shot one more evil glare toward his elder brother, as they left.

For some reason which he could no longer remember, he had wasted time here, speaking with his brother, instead of searching for Kikyou. And he didn't really feel like continuing his search any longer. Listening to that brat had ruined his resolve.

Instead of finding Kikyou, it seemed that he had found a new subject to worry about that afternoon.

Why would his brother have agreed to date a girl, if he did not find her attractive? It bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Inuyasha should not spend time with a girl, simply because he liked her food... that was a shallow excuse. Eventually, Kagome would notice that he didn't care, it would hurt her feelings, Inuyasha would blame all the wrong people, and everything would become _Sesshoumaru's_ fault, somehow, for allowing the stupid girl to date his half-brother in the first place.

Moreover, why would _anyone_ find Kikyou (or Kagome) unattractive? That was a bare-faced lie.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Later in the week, an unexpected visitor approached him, in the library. Slapping her bookbag down on the table, Kagome made the librarian wince at the noise. Next, she slouched deeply into one of the chairs across from Sesshoumaru.

For a while, she pretended to ignore him. Pulling paper and pen out of her bag, she shuffled her belongings around without purpose, never actually bothering to write anything on the sheet of paper in front of her. Sesshoumaru raised one brow, waiting for an explanation of why she invaded his study space.

Finally, the first-year girl spoke. "So... um... I have a question," she began slowly, tapping the pen in her hand onto the table. "Er... another one. I was wondering... What is your idea of a perfect date?"

He blinked in puzzlement. This was the reason why she had sought him out in the library? Truly, his interactions with this girl grew more and more strange.

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she countered quickly, diverting him from his goal of uncovering the truth. "Come on! Answer the question."

With a shrug, he acquiesced. If this was what she wanted to talk about, then who was he to complain? Perhaps the answer might return to bite Inuyasha in the butt, when he failed to live up to her expectation of a proper date.

"Hm," mused Sesshoumaru, going back to his homework, while he thought. "I suppose... a nice lunch at an outdoor café, followed by a trip to a museum. If you go to a movie, then you can't speak with her. And if you stay outside too long, then you get sunburned. But enjoying a museum shows a respect for culture and a sense of creativity, while avoiding sunlight and allowing conversation."

Kagome giggled, hiding her lips with one hand. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru frowned. He had not been joking; he had been serious. There was nothing wrong with wanting to tour a museum...

"Well, that sounds lovely," she added after a while. "I have never worried about sunburn during a date, but it seems like you have given this a lot of thought."

Sesshoumaru cringed internally. No, that was not true. The first time he ever considered the issue was when she asked this question. At least, she was not outright laughing at his idea – only at his opinion on the importance of skin-care and the avoidance of freckles.

Come to think of it, he did sound slightly silly. It was not as if Sesshoumaru ever had actually _gone_ on a date. With a soft sigh, he returned to the work laid out on the table, although he made no progress.

"Is something wrong?" he inquired, at length.

Shaking her head, the dark-haired girl waved away his concerns with one hand. "Oh, no. I just wondered."

He closed the nearest textbook and crossed his fingers on the wood before him, to display that he was paying attention. Surely, Kagome did not hope to escape answering so easily. People did not open subjects like this randomly, out of sheer curiosity.

When she realized that he would not accept that answer, the girl squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. "Oh, fine. Okay," Kagome muttered, "It is simply that you said Inuyasha could not date me last weekend, because he had a part-time job."

The fidgeting increased, while she fought not to look him in the eyes. "So, I went to his store and watched him serve lunch to people," continued the first-year student. Now, a tiny blush was forming on her cheeks. The tone of her voice said that she was embarrassed, not angry. But he could not fathom why. "And later, when I suggested a movie, he said that we already had lunch together, and that _was_ the 'date' ... Yea. Just checking whether normal people thought... watching someone work... counted as dating."

Unexpectedly, it felt like his heart was sinking within his chest. Sesshoumaru was disappointed on her behalf. This could not be good. There was really no reason for him to be involved in this.

Still. His younger brother was _such_ an idiot. Inuyasha had recently said that he enjoyed her cooking, if not her attitude or appearance. Rather than running away from the idea of dating her, at the very least, perhaps the boy could think of some way to include her culinary skills into the event.

On the other hand, this was a long-awaited result. From the very start, he had hoped for Inuyasha to display various negative traits. Sesshoumaru had wanted Kagome to learn to dislike the boy, _on her own_. Even Inuyasha had agreed this was a good idea in the beginning. So, if the idiot's behavior this weekend had pushed forward their original plan, then it was good. In some ways. Technically speaking.

Soon, thinking about his little brother's relationship began to overtax his brain. And since when had he started thinking of her as Kagome, instead of _Higurashi_? Even inside the privacy of his mind, he must retain control. Yet it had been a while, he realized, since he had attached a last name to thoughts of her. If he did not stay careful, then he might refer to her in this familiar fashion, in real life. Maintaining distance was important.

"I am certain..." he said next, hoping that his tone seemed firm and more distant than he felt, "Inuyasha did not intend to..." Trailing off, Sesshoumaru realized he had no idea what to say. But silence would make this subject worse, not better. "Inuyasha was probably tired," the pale-haired student asserted, "And he felt like he did not have enough money for the cinema. Since he has not received a pay-check from his part-time job, as of yet."

Hmm. Now where did that lame excuse come from? As he watched a small smile creep over her face, Sesshoumaru shook his head, sadly. Speaking positively of his little brother, it would ultimately work against his plans. Besides, it was _difficult_ \- he had almost no experience in comforting someone. But if it made her comfortable, then it was okay. She would learn what his half-brother was like, soon enough.


	8. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I think my version of Sesshoumaru's character is annoying sometimes – in this story, he keeps thinking about how 'stressed' he is and how 'hard' he is working... only he's not really. He's just a spoiled little prince. Hmm. Apologies, all you readers. He'll get better soon. Kagome will help.

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 7:**

Another week passed, before any of the children noticed. Yura and Touga's relationship was souring. While it pleased Sesshoumaru, in a perverse, twisted fashion, Rin didn't quite understand the argumentative behavior of the adults around her. And that, Sesshoumaru could admit, was bad.

Money had been tight lately. And finally, Touga had noted the amount of money that his newest wife spent, because now, both of his sons had part-time jobs. There was no way to blame their lack of funds on either Sesshoumaru or Inuyasha, anymore.

Yura did not listen to anyone else's concerns. She continued to surreptitiously lift money from Touga's wallet and from his bank account, whenever she needed extra cash. In the end, neither Inuyasha nor Sesshoumaru needed to say a thing about Yura's behavior, because she sabotaged herself, quite thoroughly.

Thankfully, Touga was not blind to her faults. He was simply more forgiving than most. (Too forgiving, in his son's opinion.) Yet even Touga's tolerance only went so far. Money might not be important to him, but companionship, loyalty, and love of family were Touga's defining characteristics.

As a result, this very morning had marked the beginning of the end of the marriage. After many days of tension, Father had suggested that a break was in order, and the family should take a sight-seeing trip to a nearby shrine. Instead of joining the group, Yura had chosen to sleep late that morning (as usual).

When Touga insisted that she come on this short outing, she fought back, shouting. Their argument had nearly rattled the walls. Apparently, in Yura's mind, it was horrific to spend time with her step-children. And in Touga's mind, at last, it was clear that he had picked the wrong woman to marry.

So, the discouraged father had calmly but firmly told his wife to move out of the house since she didn't seem to value being a part of their family.

Now, the entire family _except_ for that woman (version #3) sat peacefully on a bus, traveling to a local temple. For a sight-seeing trip. Which none of them really wanted to take, anymore.

Wondering how many of their possessions would have survived his step-mother's fury, by the time they returned home, Sesshoumaru rubbed at his eyes in exasperation. Meanwhile, Rin climbed onto his lap. Inuyasha had removed the little girl from the house, while their parents fought, so she hadn't heard too much yelling. But still, she knew something was wrong. And she needed reassurance. Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru tightened his arms around his smallest sibling.

Touga was staring out the window and brooding. Inuyasha had absorbed the negative mood from his father, after hearing a bit of Touga's fight with his latest spouse. "Seriously. Why are we going to a _shrine_?" grumbled the pale-haired boy, under his breath. "It's not like cherry trees are in bloom."

Despite the low tone, Sesshoumaru overheard his comment. "Just enjoy the trip, Inuyasha."

"But I have to _work_ today!" whined the brat, attempting to keep his voice low. "Stupid part-time job."

"You probably won't have to continue, now that..." Sesshoumaru trailed off, gradually.

Now that their step-mother was leaving, Father would not force his sons to continue their part-time work, would he? Oh, for heaven's sake. He might insist, actually. This would be the first time Touga actually obtained a _divorce_ instead of _burying_ his ex-spouse. And divorce was more expensive than funerary services. No inheritance either.

"Nevermind," Sesshoumaru amended his earlier suggestion. "Forget I said anything."

Luckily, Inuyasha did not seem to hear. The pale-haired boy was not thinking about the distant future, only the immediate one. "A shrine... in the off-season... boring." he groaned again.

Through the corner of one eye, Sesshoumaru shot his younger brother a dark look. He wanted to tell his younger brother to shut the hell up. But of course, he would not speak so crudely with his little sister on his lap. "Hush, now," he whispered in return, with force. The words slid past his teeth, grating against the enamel like stones. "It will be _fun_."

Entirely missing the sarcasm, Rin glanced up from his lap. The girl had finally relaxed enough to participate in a conversation. "Yea! That's right!" the youngest member of their party agreed, eagerly. "What should we see first?"

Everyone had instructed Rin that temples and shrines were wonderful places to visit. So, at least one family member was excited about this trip. With a small smile, Sesshoumaru leaned back in his chair and began to discuss their upcoming options with a petite little nine-year old.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Walking from the bus-stop took ten minutes, and climbing the long staircase in front of the shrine took another twenty minutes. It was nearly nine o'clock, by the time they reached the top of the steps. The experience would not have taken nearly so long, except for Rin. The girl was all too ready to explore each and every bush, on the way up the hill.

Before long, Inuyasha stomped away from the group, up the crest of the hill. Touga told him to wait, but this had no effect. With a pained grimace, the older man held his place on the stairs.

Sesshoumaru tried to ignore the discord that had been spreading through his family like a disease all that morning. It was as if they could not stand to be together, and for that very reason, they had decided to take a trip together. Today was not the best of days.

"Once, Izayoi and I visited this place," his father said quietly, behind him. It sounded absent-minded and almost. . . sad.

Surprised, the eldest son looked at his father, only to see Touga gazing up at the sky.

"We rang the bells and prayed." Smiling faintly, the older man continued, voice thick with emotion, "She liked to buy charms and other small things. So, we did that also."

Somehow, it seemed like an invasion of privacy, to listen to such words fall from his father's lips. Sesshoumaru looked away again. A foggy feeling of distress enveloped him. He lifted Rin off the ground, carrying her toward the top of the stairs and leaving his father, just as Inuyasha did earlier.

"Sesshoumaru-husband and I will buy charms too!" crowed Rin happily, waving over his shoulder at Touga. The older man sorrowfully trailed after them, toward the main shrine.

At the top of the stairs, he carefully placed his step-sister on the ground again. Rin immediately wanted to play, making her way toward the nearest set of trees. With a sheepish looking smile, Touga volunteered to take responsibility of the girl for a while. It seemed that Touga could tell his eldest son desired a moment's peace, a break from responsibility.

"Why don't we try a new form of hide-and-seek?" the older man suggested to Rin, "You look for Inuyasha, and I will look for you."

And that was how, for a few moments, Sesshoumaru found peace and serenity at a public shrine. It was unfortunate, he thought, that the rest of his family had to depart, in order for him to feel this way.

He hated Yura. He was not sorry to know that his father's relationship was ending. And yet... he was sorry for his father. Even now, he felt unsettled by the argument that he had overheard, in its entirety. Perhaps staying home and listening to them fight had been a bad idea. Inuyasha had left the house with Rin; Sesshoumaru should have followed.

Yet a part of his heart had been concerned on Father's behalf, so he had stayed, in case Touga needed 'help' of some kind. Not that Yura was particularly dangerous, or anything like that. He shouldn't have remained at home.

With a sigh, he tried not to think too hard about anything in particular. Touga could make his own decisions, and the old man's patience was not infinite. He had finally chosen to end a bad relationship – that was progress! Definitely, a step in the right direction. There was no need to pity him.

Meandering through the temple-complex, he tried to enjoy the fall leaves on the trees, in all of their color. Many leaves had fallen to the ground, and he crunched them underfoot. Determined to regain a sense of calm, Sesshoumaru breathed deeply. He would continue to be a reliable, dependable elder brother figure. And a good son. He wouldn't allow himself to remain upset by this morning's events.

Finally, a suitable distraction appeared before him. Near the rear-entrance, he saw a woman dressed in red and white, sweeping under one of the shrine gates. Oddly enough, the miko looked somewhat familiar.

While keeping an eye on his relatives so they were not separated too greatly, Sesshoumaru watched the priestess. The closer he walked, the more familiar she seemed. But it wasn't until he was several steps away that the lady lifted her gaze, and he realized who she was.

"Kikyou?" he asked in amazement, surprised to see a friendly face in such an unexpected spot.

Nervousness smothered him. He had not been expecting to meet a girl that he liked in such a random place. Quickly stifling his surprise, he straightened his spine. This was a benefit in disguise. He had never encountered Kikyou, outside of school, before now. He had wanted to know more about her, to see her outside of class, to speak to her . . . Today was a good chance to do such things!

She seemed shocked to see him too, but upon recognizing him, she relaxed. "Sesshoumaru!" answered his fellow classmate happily. "What are you doing here?"

In the background, Rin shrieked with delight. Sesshoumaru waved one hand in that direction. "Oh, my family... We are... taking a trip." Hmm. This was embarrassing. He did not want to introduce his relatives at this particular instant. Not after the dreadful morning they had suffered. Everyone (except for Rin) was in a sour mood.

Instead of offering to introduce his family, he changed the subject. "You work at this shrine?"

With a chuckle, she shook her head. "No, no. I _live_ here," Kikyou corrected him.

"I had no idea," he answered eagerly. The more they spoke, the lighter his heart felt. She would help him to forget about his personal problems, and he would simultaneously learn new facts about her.

The conversation stalled when he did not introduce another subject, however. She never volunteered any information or carried the dialogue in any way. He felt nervous. As usual, it was hard to speak with someone that he admired, like Kikyou, without feeling foolish.

"Do you like living here?" Motioning vaguely with one hand yet again, he scrounged around for a subject.

Then, Sesshoumaru criticized himself internally. Such a stupid sounding question! Surely, he could do better than to ask Kikyou whether she liked 'living' . . . Unfortunately, the words had already rushed out, before he could process what he was saying.

Luckily, it seemed that Kikyou was in good spirits, this morning. She was smiling. And she was still willing to reply. "Yes, I think so," the shrine maiden answered. "I haven't lived anywhere else, though."

Once more, their dialogue came to a stand-still. Sesshoumaru blinked in confusion.

Hmm.

To be honest, it was almost. . . aggravating . . . the way that Kikyou never initiated the next line. A fleeting thought crossed his mind – Kagome would never have such a problem. But he shook his head, brushing aside the errant thought.

The silence stretched, a moment more. "Would you like to meet my family?" he asked finally, discouraged.

It was unfortunate, but he didn't have anything else to offer. If Kikyou did not sustain the dialogue, even the tiniest bit, the next 'neutral' subject that he offered would probably be . . . the weather. And that subject would have an obvious tinge of desperation. Plus, he didn't want her to think that he was rude, for _not_ introducing his relatives. Thus, lacking other options, he was forced to suggest it.

"All right," Kikyou acquiesced pleasantly, with a touch of disinterest. As the pair walked toward the others, she glanced at Rin in the distance. "Your little sister? She is obviously not a blood-relation."

Sesshoumaru agreed. The pale-hair was a dead giveaway. Touga and Inuyasha both had the same light-colored hair that he did, because his father had some European blood in him. But Rin had a different mother _and_ a different father, so she looked quite distinct within their family unit.

"Yes. But she is lucky to look the way she does," he smirked proudly. Trying to inject some humor into the situation, he added, "In earlier grades, sometimes other children refused to believe I was Japanese."

This dragged a small laugh from his friend.

Soon enough, however, they both fell silent again. Neither individual was a great conversationalist to begin with, and Sesshoumaru did not know what to add, while Kikyou seemed unwilling to try. A flicker of frustration sparked in the pale-haired boy's chest.

At this point, anxiety began to seep back under his skin. He had to think of something to say. This was too excellent an opportunity to squander. Learning more about Kikyou could only be a positive opportunity. But he could not, under any circumstances, speak about the weather. No. That was lame.

"So," he began hopefully, "Do you only work on the weekends, around the shrine?"

Nodding, she agreed. Working part-time on the weekend did not seem to bother her, in the way that it had bothered him at first. Kikyou was far too honorable to be bothered by petty, paltry problems, Sesshoumaru thought. Once again, he admired her.

"Usually, it is very calming and peaceful here," Kikyou continued calmly.

He smiled. "I'm sure it is!" By now, they had almost reached the members of his family. And still, Kikyou was not volunteering any new topics. But perhaps Sesshoumaru was improving at taking on this duty, for her. The next question seemed simple. "How long have you lived here?"

Caution entered her eyes, as Kikyou gazed toward the far end of the compound. It seemed like her attention had drifted away from him. "Oh?" uttered the miko, squinting her eyes a bit, "Since I was ten years old, or so."

Following her gaze, he saw a red-eyed, black haired man approaching them from the edge of the shrine. A chill worked its way into his blood. That man! It was the same man that Sesshoumaru had seen over a month ago, outside the school, picking Kikyou up in his car. Her boyfriend, probably. The man had been leaning over her, holding her arms . . .

Unexpectedly, his companion wished him a good day and excused herself from his presence. With a slight frown on her face, Kikyou rushed in the opposite direction as the newcomer. Bewildered, Sesshoumaru stared after her, as she left.

Was that man the reason why she left so quickly? Well, perhaps they were _not_ dating, after all. It seemed like Kikyou wanted to avoid him, since she became anxious to leave, the moment the man appeared.

As he rejoined his family, he kept one eye over his shoulder, spying on his friend. In the distance, the dark-haired man caught up to Kikyou. Even though the priestess and the strange man spoke quietly, it did not look like a happy reunion. Kikyou gestured angrily toward him with her broom.

Sesshoumaru tensed, wondering whether he should go over there and help his friend. Did Kikyou need help? Perhaps. Perhaps not. These two obviously knew each other. And it might seem rude to interrupt their discussion. And . . . well, it was probably just a lover's quarrel, or something like that. He frowned. Other people implied this sort of thing happened often.

The moment that he showed himself to his family, Rin had tugged on his sleeve, trying to distract him with the good luck charms that she recently purchased. But she knew Sesshoumaru was not paying attention to her, when he glanced away. Rin began to tug on his sleeve, harder and harder, until his arm was actually shaking.

"Yes, Rin," he pulled his arm out of her grasp, looking at her trinkets. "Yes, I see them. Very nice."

Rubbing his arm, he tried to put the entire experience behind him. Rin shoved one of the good luck charms into his palm with a grin. He nodded solemnly. But he could not avoid one last glance over his shoulder.

Kikyou was still fighting with the dark-haired man, and she appeared furious.

Surely, it was not his place to interfere in another couple's relationship. Whether it looked happy and lovely on the surface or not. After all, his own feelings toward Kikyou might be tainting the way that he viewed this situation.

Still, it gave him an idea. He would offer a listening ear, later. The shrine-priestess might appreciate it. And once Sesshoumaru was on her good side, then perhaps she would start to like him more than this other man with dark curly hair? Whoever that awful, argumentative man might be.

Yes, that sounded like a good idea. Listen to Kikyou, offer friendly advice, and steal her affections. He could do that.

Touga was always perceptive, especially concerning relationships. With a gleam in his eye, Sesshoumaru's father gave him a hopeful look. "A friend of yours?" he hinted eagerly.

Naturally, the older man had been quite pleased to see his eldest son walking toward the group at the side of a girl. Any girl. It had been many years; not once had Touga seen Sesshoumaru show interest in the opposite sex. So, he grabbed at even the slightest threads of interest.

"What?" the eldest boy said, wide-eyed, "No, nothing like that."

"Like 'that'? I asked if she was a friend, that's all." Touga teased.

"Oh." Without knowing it, Sesshoumaru gave himself away entirely. He blushed. "Well, yes. Of course. A friend."

And without meaning to do so, it seemed that Sesshoumaru had finally managed to cheer up his father. Even the demise of his current marriage could not prevent his happiness and amusement, watching Sesshoumaru _blush_ over a girl. Touga began to chuckle, delightedly, while Inuyasha rolled his eyes at his father's insanity.

Rin merely stared at her father-figure, then at her potential husband-figure, confused. Occasionally, adults did not make sense. She returned to counting her good-luck charms, a much more interesting endeavor.


	9. Chapter 8

**No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 8:**

Never one to delay implementing a plan, Sesshoumaru caught up with Kikyou before school, at the beginning of the next week. Standing beside her locker, he cleared his throat. But his classmate simply greeted him and walked down the hall. Feeling unsure of himself, Sesshoumaru meekly followed her to the classroom. He did not know where to begin.

There was almost a quarter of an hour until their first period began, so the homeroom was still empty. They had plenty of privacy. Now, if only he could figure out what to say.

Somehow, this had all seemed easier on the inside of his head. "I noticed," Sesshoumaru began slowly, "That you seemed to be having . . . some trouble with your . . . boyfriend?"

The long-haired girl slowly stopped placing books from her bag onto the desk. Puzzled, she tilted her head to the side. "Hmm?"

"The man I saw at the shrine, this weekend," he continued.

The other class-representative stared at him blankly.

Still, Sesshoumaru could not be dissuaded. A direct route was best, sometimes. No one else was in the area; she would feel free to reply. "I wanted to offer to be a listening ear."

Finally, Kikyou understood what he was talking about. But instead of giving him a response that he had been hoping for, or even a reply that he had been dreading, the girl managed to stun him completely. She began to laugh. And this time, the laughter was much more free and easy-going than it had sounded on the weekend.

Sesshoumaru lingered a few feet away, uncertain whether laughter was a good sign or a bad sign. Even worse, he was getting distracted. When Kikyou laughed it made her sound very nice, and the upward turn of her lips made her cheeks look pretty . . . He glanced away, unexpectedly shy.

Overcoming her surprise, Kikyou replied gently. "Oh! That man," she said with a smile. Then, she chewed on her lip, as if doubtful of her next few words. "No, no. I don't have a boyfriend."

Inside his chest, Sesshoumaru felt his heart take wing, flying away into the air. He stood at attention, facing Kikyou. She was single! He had been incorrect about the red-eyed, black-haired man. They were not involved! Well, that would make his task much easier . . .

Unfortunately though, Kikyou had not finished yet.

"I have a girlfriend," she corrected him.

Sesshoumaru felt his heart abruptly plummet into the fiery depths of hell.

Without noticing his internal struggle, the girl resumed unpacking her bookbag. Slowly, she gathered her papers into a stack. Next, she raised the lid of the desk, tucking them inside it.

As she moved, Sesshoumaru stared at her hands, transfixed. It was hard to think. To process her words.

"The person you saw this weekend at the shrine," Kikyou answered his unspoken question, "His name is Naraku. That is her older brother. He's very protective of her. To the point of trying to control her life. He acts . . . like she is one of his possessions."

A wistful quality in the dark-haired girl's tone caught Sesshoumaru's attention. It was immediately clear that she liked her . . . girlfriend . . . a great deal. Of course, that did not make it any easier to deal with the idea that Kikyou was taken – and not only that – dating another girl.

He sagged wearily against one of the desks, realizing that he had just offered to be a listening ear, while his high-school crush spoke about her _girlfriend_. Ah! The agony.

But he had offered to listen. And apparently, Kikyou did not mind telling him about her problems. After all, she already told him the crux of the issue that was bothering her.

In resignation, Sesshoumaru nodded to encourage her to keep going. It was too late to retreat from the conversation now. And he _did_ want to help Kikyou! She had seemed so sad lately.

When she saw that he was paying attention, still listening, she shrugged slightly. "I try to show her that it is okay to break free from the mold," his classmate mused. "To demonstrate that you can be an excellent student, respected in school and society, even if not everyone understands you… But it's hard sometimes. Kagura is used to being controlled."

Once more, the pale-haired boy bobbed his head, agreeing mildly. The name, Kagura, it was not one that he recognized, so he guessed the girl must be a student at another school. Or at least, in another grade.

"She wants to be 'free' but she doesn't seem to know how to achieve this goal," Kikyou sighed.

It felt strange to stand there and be sympathetic. Well, at least, now that he understood the actual subject. Sesshoumaru always attempted to act as though he understood everything that happened around him, even when he did not. But this was the first time that his failure seemed so obvious, so total.

On the one hand, he didn't want to seem like an opinionated bigot. So, although he did not feel entirely comfortable with the idea of girl-on-girl relationships, he would try to be understanding. On the other hand, he desperately wished that he could shake her shoulders and tell her to consider guys too. Surely, other _girls_ were not the only type of person Kikyou ever wanted to date? Or perhaps they could give the boys a chance to . . . watch. . . at the very least?

Luckily, he managed to stomp on this indecent reaction, before he spoke. He vigorously pounded the urge into oblivion. Keeping a cool facade of calmness and commiseration, he listened to her tale of woes, nodding in all the appropriate places.

And after five minutes had passed, other students finally began to trickle into the classroom. Kikyou quickly stopped talking, when she saw other students. Just before class began, though, he was shocked to hear her voice again. With a furtive smile, she called to Sesshoumaru. It seemed as though her mood had improved a great deal.

"Thank you for listening," Kikyou whispered, as the other students filtered past them. "I had always thought you had a sort of steadiness about you. And I was right! You are not the biased or prejudiced type – simply a good friend!"

He returned to his desk, slightly appalled. Not because of what she had told him about her sexuality. No. To be honest, in the end, he was ashamed of _himself_.

He realized that Kikyou was incorrect. He had always been rather biased on certain subjects – his half-brother, for instance. And he was not particularly 'steady' in nature – he was capable of holding grudges for years. (Again, Inuyasha was the sticking point.)

It had never occurred to Sesshoumaru before today, however, that this made him into a liar. His good behavior at school presented a false picture of his actual, internal attitude. And in the end, this mattered, because he did not want to act like a liar toward other people.

Kikyou had _assumed_ that he would be kind and understanding, not judgmental. But it was not necessarily true. Sesshoumaru could be very judgmental – he simply didn't speak of it to others.

Did that make him into a dishonest person?

Finally, as class started, he shook his head firmly. Perhaps this discovery was not as negative or unpleasant as he thought. At the very least, Kikyou felt _safe_ , revealing such a personal secret to him. Certainly, he was reliable enough to keep secrets. It was positive that he didn't divulge other people's affairs.

Even if his behavior was deceptive, it was positive, right?

Chewing on these thoughts, he doggedly held them in his mind, unable to let go of the subject.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Solid, dark boots. Brown suede shoes. Black shoes with a strap over the top. Loafers with a buckle in the front... Glittering sneakers?!

A-ha! After several minutes of searching the shoe-racks at the front of the school, Sesshoumaru found them. Kagome's shoes had not disappeared yet. This meant that she was still in the building somewhere!

Some students wore different footwear to the school than they were allowed to wear with their uniforms. They exchanged their regular shoes with the uniform approved shoes, at the front door. And he had noticed that Kagome Higurashi was one of these girls. She seemed to like wearing more color than a restrictive uniform policy permitted.

Strange as it might seem, he hoping to find her. Rubbing the back of his head, the third-year realized with embarrassment that he had reached a new low, if he was stalking girls by way of their shoes.

And since when did he have such a good memory for the style of shoes that Kagome wore?

There was a very good excuse for this sort of behavior, though. Right now, he needed the same sort of support which he had offered to Kikyou, only that morning. And Sesshoumaru did not know many girls. He could count all of his female acquaintances on one hand. Even more important, he could only think of one girl over whom he had enough leverage to ask for advice, without her turning on him or revealing a potentially embarrassing story.

Kagome was perfect! Because she was not acquainted with Kikyou, she would be unlikely to sabotage the older girl for any reason. Because Kagome was good-hearted, she would probably not trouble _him_ either, by exposing his pointless, fruitless crush on Kikyou.

Furthermore, in a worst case scenario, he could always blackmail her into keeping quiet, by threatening to tell Inuyasha that . . . that . . . she agreed to make lunches for Sesshoumaru first. Well, it wasn't much blackmail material, but it was better than nothing. Still, he knew the truth – the chances of Kagome attempting to undermine his reputation by telling people about his infatuation were slim to none.

Kagome was far more likely to be sympathetic. The same way he had acted that morning, toward Kikyou. It was almost like karma. He had offered a friendly, listening ear to Kikyou – now he deserved one, too.

Knowing that she had not departed for home, he started a methodical search across the campus. At last, he discovered the girl in the back of the art classroom. A flash of movement caught his eye as he walked through the second-floor hallway, and as he turned, Sesshoumaru saw his target in front of the windows.

Furiously pacing back and forth, she did not even pause when he slid open the classroom door. For a moment, she resembled the spunky, vivacious girl with whom he had first argued at the tennis courts. She resembled the angry girl who cowed his little brother into being a boyfriend one Saturday afternoon. Yet this current version of Kagome seemed very troubled. What could be upsetting her this much?

All thoughts of asking her opinion about Kikyou slowly dribbled out of his mind, as he watched her pace the length of the classroom. Over and over again. She seemed to be arguing with herself.

Eventually, she noticed him at the front of the room. Although it took her several tries to express herself clearly, Kagome stopped in the middle of an isle and muttered something. Crossing her arms over her chest, she tapped her foot, nervously waiting for a reply.

He blinked, mystified. The only piece of her phrase that he understood, it had something to do with Inuyasha. "What about Inuyasha?"

"I _said_ ," growled the first-year student, loudly this time, "All he ever wants to do is stare at _other girls_!"

Without waiting for Sesshoumaru to answer, the dark-haired girl returned to her tirade, pacing beside the windows. "It's really annoying. Miroku, Sango, and I visit him all the time, outside of school. Even when he is working. Which sucks by the way! Why did he have to get a part-time job, anyway?"

Pointing her finger at him, she waggled it in the air, as though this would make her point clear. It didn't.

"But anyway - that's not the point!" she continued venting. "The point is: Inuyasha flirts with all his female customers. Especially this trio of girls from our class, named Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. They are all over him. They giggle and smile, and they play with their hair . . . "

Next, she trailed off, gazing doubtfully at her own locks. Twirling a few strands of hair around one finger, she huffed impatiently. "So what is it about hair?! It's just... strands of protein!"

Sesshoumaru found himself nodding absentmindedly, not sure what else to do. This was definitely not the situation he had anticipated, upon finding his half-brother's girlfriend. The girl that he helped _introduce_ to his brother, in fact.

However, she took his agreement as a good sign. "Yes, that's exactly what I mean!" announced Kagome. "It isn't just those three girls, either. He's always ready to act brave or to seem hilarious around other girls. But all _we_ ever do is argue."

Tipping his head to one side in consternation, the upperclassman pondered her story. Oddly enough, listening to Kikyou complain . . . Well, that had been confusing. But listening to Kagome complain was amusing and . . . kind of fun. Not because he enjoyed her disappointment, no. It was simply that he could easily imagine his half-brother doing something so stupid in front of the girlfriend.

"I guess I am learning the truth about him, now, huh?! Is that it?" Pacing back to her supplies, she started to shove them roughly into her pack. Then, abruptly, she stopped and threw the bag across the room. Sesshoumaru flinched.

With one hand out, he inched forward to calm her down, wary of upsetting her more. Unfortunately, his sole audience member did not seem to be ready to stop ranting yet.

"I wish I'd learned what he was like sooner," whined Kagome, tucking her hands beneath her arms once more. "At least our 'dates' did not get very far."

Wide-eyed, she swirled to face him, continuing her monologue. "Oh! Can you imagine if we had . . ." she whispered, as if the subject itself was scandalous. "No! That would have been awful. I'm glad to break up with him sooner, rather than later."

Taking a deep breath for good measure, the upperclassman echoed her, helplessly. "You are breaking up with Inuyasha?"

"Of course!" shouted Kagome. "He's a . . . a . . . two-timer!"

A crease developed in Sesshoumaru's brow. Hmm. Unbelievable, but true. He was about to take his brother's side in an argument. Again.

"Really?" he inquired mildly. "Have you seen him kiss another girl, or some such thing?"

Grouchy, sullen, she stared at him. "No," the younger girl grumbled.

"Has he told anyone at the school that he has feelings for another student, other than you?"

Kagome stomped her foot and crossed the room, stopping directly in front of him to poke him in the chest. It seemed that she had a habit of doing such things. He also remembered the way she had a tendency of working herself into a frenzy, instead of simmering down into a state of calm.

"No, but that's not the point," she persisted, still prodding his chest with her forefinger, although there was no force behind it. "The point is that we aren't happy together."

As if she had only just realized what her hands were doing, without her permission, she stopped touching him. She looked slightly surprised, but Sesshoumaru wasn't certain whether it was because of her own actions, or because she had a revelation about Inuyasha. Kagome was difficult to interpret.

"I only want to be happy," she said morosely, staring at the tips of her shoes. The expression on her face darkened, disintegrating into a moody, sad look. " But I want him to be happy, too. Since Inuyasha seems unhappy around me, then . . . I should break up with him, right?"

Once again, he was completely unaware of what to say. The third-year student felt like he was standing on a line, not sure where to step, left or right. Should he defend his half-brother (who hadn't done anything wrong) or encourage her to break up with Inuyasha (as they had planned all along)?

As long as she kept doing so well, telling him about her problems, then perhaps he didn't have to participate in this conversation. . . much. Gently guiding his companion to a seat, Sesshoumaru gathered together her schoolwork. "Mm, perhaps," he replied noncommittally.

Naturally, this encouraged her to continue.

Flipping from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other, she swiveled in the seat to look at him. With a smile, she clasped her hands together over her chest. "Ah, but you're the older brother," added Kagome brightly, "So, you know what he likes to do! You can give me _advice_."

He froze in place. The silence following this statement nearly echoed off the walls. Her emphasis on the word 'advice' practically seemed to give the word a capital letter.

Vehemently, Sesshoumaru shook his head in denial. Honestly, he did not want to be dragged back into the middle of his half-brother's relationship. He did not want to assist Inuyasha. He didn't want to see his half-brother happy with this girl. Although he couldn't quite put his finger on why not. Perhaps it was vengeful and nasty behavior toward his half-brother, but it had to do with Kagome's feelings, as well. She should find someone better . . . No, he was not going to help her reconcile with Inuyasha. Pushing the two of them toward each other, and then watching them break up, it had been his intention all along.

Moreover, this was not why he sought her out, in the first place. Giving her advice on her love-troubles was not a part of his plan. Sesshoumaru needed advice, not Kagome! This was all going wrong.

"Oh, come on," she pleaded. The girl's voice took on a wheedling tone, which he recognized instantly. It was the same imploring sound that Rin always used to coerce him into things.

But this time, he would not relent. He shook his head again. "I can't help you with this," he asserted firmly.

"What about telling me his favorite color or something?" she wondered aloud, basically ignoring his words, "I could buy him . . . "

"No," Sesshoumaru snapped icily. "Absolutely not!"

Her mouth fell open, in surprise, as if she could not believe his refusal.

And even that small gesture made Sesshoumaru feel guilty. He was being rude and unsympathetic, and he knew it. But really, he did not want to help with this problem.

Desperately, he tried to salvage the situation, but only managed to dig himself deeper into a hole. "I try very hard _not_ to know too much about my half-brother's life, actually."

She countered with a threat. "I'll quit making you lunches, unless you tell me one tiny, little thing about what your brother likes."

Of course, the threat did not sound nearly as credible to Sesshoumaru, as it did to Kagome. Given the fact that he had only gotten her to agree to prepare a month's worth of lunch-boxes. . .

And that month was already over . . .

Scratching his head, he eyed her suspiciously. Either she could not count, or she had forgotten that she had _already_ ceased to give him lunch in the morning. He huffed. There wasn't much else he could say. "You only owed me o-bento boxes for one month."

"Yes, I know. I am so very nice. When Inuyasha saw me making two lunches, he asked who the other one was for . . . so I told him I didn't want you to feel left out." A nervous giggle escaped her lips. "And then, I had to keep making lunches for you, even though the Month-of-Torture was over. But that's okay, I don't mind making your . . . I mean . . . I was preparing one box for Inuyasha anyway. It doesn't take extra effort to prepare another portion of the same stuff."

As she trailed off, gazing at his blank face, Kagome frowned. "Inuyasha _has_ been giving them to you, right?"

It was the thought that counted, even if he had never received the extra food. Sesshoumaru shrugged, a smile overtaking his normally indifferent facade. "No."

A flutter of warmth enveloped him, when he understood. This girl had continued to honor their deal, even after it was done. That was very nice. Although he had only received a month's worth of lunch-boxes for Rin, it seemed that Kagome had continued making them, on his behalf, without his knowledge.

"What? He's been eating TWO lunches, every day, for the last week?!" she shrieked in outrage. "Oh! That pig! I am breaking up with him, for sure!"

This time, the elder brother did not think to protest on behalf of his sibling. Instead, he offered to carry Kagome's bag as they left. She protested weakly, then allowed him to do it. It allowed her arms more freedom to gesture, as she continued to discuss Inuyasha's many flaws. A subject which didn't bother Sesshoumaru nearly as much as it would have, if he had been a normal sibling.

As he walked Kagome out of the building, he realized that he did not need to discuss his problems, after all. This girl was marvelously entertaining. How could he worry about someone like Kikyou, with someone like Kagome there to distract him?

Also strange, how dialogue between Kikyou and Sesshouaru always seemed a bit stilted. They periodically dropped into silence. In contrast, conversations with Kagome flowed easily and smoothly, despite the fact that he did not say much. He didn't need to, because she would respond to his expression alone.

"No, seriously!" she vented, as she slammed her locker door. "He's a terrible brother. He talks about you, like you are a selfish, manipulative jerk. You didn't selfishly steal _two_ lunches per day, for a week! And why shouldn't I want to make you lunch too? I made all the food anyway. Why not divide it in two?"

"Indeed," he agreed smugly. The smile would not seem to fade from Sesshoumaru's face.

Over a month ago, he had found a handwritten note from Kagome in his locker, criticizing the terrible things he did to his half-brother, Inuyasha. She had a bad opinion of him, back then, but it seemed she knew the truth now. These two brothers just did not see eye-to-eye. And he was always right. And Inuyasha was always wrong.

Next, in a most serious voice, he made a new offer. In his opinion, it seemed quite generous. "You may continue to prepare o-bento boxes for me and skip making one for Inuyasha, if you like."

"Oh, no, no!" she protested merrily. "You aren't getting free food that easily. This whole agreement was a big mistake, and I don't WANT to date your half-brother anymore."

"But I might die from hunger ?" he volunteered wistfully.

"Hmph!" Kagome grinned widely, clearly disbelieving his pitiful suggestion.

Opening the front door of the building for her, he wandered outside onto the concrete pathway that ran around the school. "What about the seven meals that Inuyasha ate on my behalf?"

"Ah! Seven!" she objected. "Who said he stole that many?"

At this rate, he was going to be late to his cram school session. But somehow, Sesshoumaru could not drag himself away from the schoolyard yet. "Six?"

"No, we are _not_ playing the numbers game, not again," Kagome said. It seemed that a goofy smile had infected her, as well. "You won, last time."

"...Five?"


	10. Chapter 9

**No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 9:**

The rest of the week passed like a dream. No, it had nothing to do with lunches from Kagome. It was because of the annoyance that flooded Inuyasha's face, in the middle of the next afternoon. The way he looked was absolutely priceless. Obviously, he had just heard the news. Kagome was breaking up with him, and it was all his own fault. Just picturing his half-brother's forlorn face, it kept Sesshoumaru happy all afternoon.

As the final bell rang for the day, Sesshoumaru traveled to his half-brother's locker, unable to resist the temptation. Mocking his little brother for losing a perfectly good girlfriend, over such a ridiculously stupid subject, this was too much fun to ignore! After a few minutes, he glimpsed light-colored hair heading in his direction.

When Inuyasha came close enough to see him, the boy glared angrily. "Hey! Bastard, what did you say to Kagome?"

Keeping his expression completely serene, Sesshoumaru leaned against the end of the row of lockers. This was too easy. "Oh? Why do you ask?"

"You drove off my girlfriend!" Inuyasha shouted in return. "I can't believe this. The one good thing I have going for me, at this school, and you chase the food-giving-wonder away!"

If home-made lunches were really the only reason the brat appreciated her, then the relationship would not have lasted long. This situation served Sesshoumaru's interests better, in any case. His original objective when pushing Inuyasha and Kagome together was to force his little brother to act more responsibly, instead of foisting problems off on other people. To abandon a girl's note in Sesshoumaru's locker, rather than telling her directly that they should not date – this showed irresponsibility. Maybe now, his younger sibling could learn from his mistakes.

"You did it all by yourself, dear brother," he replied sarcastically. "Perhaps you should think before acting in the future."

Narrowing his eyes, the younger boy stared suspiciously at his brother. "What is that supposed to mean?"

By now, it was impossible to maintain his usual cool, expressionless gaze. A malicious smirk crept over Sesshoumaru's lips. Inuyasha glared, although he did seem to become a great deal more wary.

Apparently, the boy had forgotten their original deal – that he _wanted_ Kagome to learn to dislike him on her own. True to his nature, Sesshoumaru decided to remind his little brother of this unpleasant truth. "How odd," continued the third-year student. "I could have sworn that you wanted for your dear elder brother – that one being _me_ , of course . . . "

With a snort, Inuyasha demonstrated how little he thought of the comment. Obviously, this conversation was not occurring because Sesshoumaru was 'dear' to him, or because Sesshoumaru felt concerned for anyone else's emotions. They both knew it.

Taking a step forward, even as Inuyasha retreated slightly, he finished smugly. ". . . I could have sworn that you wanted your dear elder brother's help, in order to _not_ get the girl."

It was like the calm before a storm, when all of the wind paused for a second, waiting for the world to explode into action. Inuyasha stared uncomprehendingly at his elder brother. Then, sure enough, he shrieked with dismay. "You... you... How dare you?!" he yelled out, "You actually _did_ drive off my girlfriend? What did you say? Seriously, what?"

"Absolutely nothing," Sesshoumaru said. In the end, it was true. He had not been the one to break apart their relationship. That was the best part. "Nothing at all."

"Augh!" bellyached the other boy, "I hate you! I mean it, this time. Really, I do. You get all the girls, and all the lunches, and all the good grades. And I am going to beat you up. I should."

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow toward his little brother, unwilling to believe a word of it.

Evidently, Inuyasha also realized that he was barking up the wrong tree with his last statement. Slowly, the boy began to lose steam and looked down at the ground, petulantly. It was as though he had regressed to an earlier stage of life, where pouting was still acceptable behavior.

"I _will_ beat you," grumbled Inuyasha sullenly. "Someday. Maybe."

But even an irresponsible person could see it, when he was looking defeat in the eyes. First-year students generally knew less than third-year students, little brothers generally were not as good as big brothers, and Inuyasha generally felt vanquished by Sesshoumaru before they even began. In the end, Inuyasha understood the truth. Maybe, just maybe, loosing Kagome was _his_ fault.

Despite what Sesshoumaru said, anyone could tell that the girl was not happy, while they dated. Hell! They had never kissed. He had never taken her to the movies . . . or to anything, really. His brother was correct. He _had_ wanted to get rid of her, in the beginning. He had even asked for assistance in this matter.

What was the point in dating someone, if he could not make her happy? There was no reason for that sort of behavior. On this issue, it seemed, both Kagome and Inuyasha agreed. With a sigh, the boy tucked his hands into his pockets, then he sent his brother one last evil stare.

Clueless about how closely Inuyasha's thoughts were echoing his own, Sesshoumaru sighed. He had merely hoped to enjoy his little brother's discomposure, after being dumped by a girl. He had not actually intended to damage the boy's self-esteem . . . beyond repair.

"Hn," the older brother breathed out softly. Comforting people, he decided, was far more awkward and difficult than pushing them toward disaster in the first place. "Ahem. Well, you know what they say. Many fish in the sea."

A miniscule twitch at the side of Inuyasha's mouth showed that everything was going to be fine between the two of them. And ironically, it made him feel a little bit better. Happier. Making fun of people was never quite as nice as making up with them.

"Many fish in the sea? Whatever. I don' like fish," grumped the younger brother, half-heartedly. "I like ramen. And no matter _how_ yummy a boxed-lunch might seem, it simply cannot stand up to the challenge of Ramen."

Sesshoumaru snorted. Surely, he did not just compare Kagome (or her lunches) to a box of Ramen? Such an odd little brother, Inuyasha was.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rin giggled mischieviously.

"Just because I have a part-time job, on the weekend," groaned Inuyasha in a sleepy stupor, "That doesn't mean that I should be forced to get out of bed early." He would have added a few more choice words, but he was speaking to his little sister, not Sesshoumaru. Only the most cold-hearted of men would have been sharp with the cute little nine-year old.

From the doorway of the bedroom, the older brother smiled and signaled his little sister to continue. Returning the grin, the girl resumed her earlier activity - poking Inuyasha's side, while he lay in bed. Inuyasha moaned again. "Riiiiin, what are you doing?"

She giggled, before she told him the truth. "I want breakfast."

"So, eat some leftovers."

"No!" the smaller sibling objected. "I want a Good Breakfast! For the weekend."

With a huff, the younger brother rolled over, twisting the sheets around him as he moved. Inuyasha cracked open one eye and considered the request. "Well, make Sesshoumaru do it. He usually fixes stuff for you."

"He's not here," explained Rin solemnly. A few feet away, the person under discussion nodded his agreement from the doorway.

"What the heck? He's standing right there, beside my door."

Once again, the fluffy brown hair on top of Rin's head bobbed back and forth, as she shook her head. Sesshoumaru decided to be merciful, and he explained. "I'm only here, until I ensure that you get up and eat breakfast with Rin. Even if it's only cereal."

Still unable to compute the strangeness of the situation, Inuyasha propped himself on his elbows, and he stared at his older brother. Sometimes, really, he despised the guy. Saturdays were made for sleeping late. As late as possible!

Finally, he managed to process the fact that his half-brother was totally dressed and carrying a book-bag over one shoulder. That meant he was leaving soon. "Where are you going?"

"I was planning to start work early, today."

Rolling his eyes, the youngest brother finally pushed off the mattress. He did not contest the issue any further. Dealing with Sesshoumaru was like talking to a brick-wall; it was pointless to argue. If a person told the dude to relax, slow-down, to be lazy for once, then he would emit the most despicable glares. . .

"Fine, fine," Inuyasha grumbled. "Overachiever."

Satisfied, the oldest sibling smirked in triumph, then touched Rin gently on the head. She gazed up at him adoringly. Silent communication passed between them. He reminded her to be good and only torture Inuyasha to a limited extent; meanwhile, she assured him that she would do her worst. Or something like that. In any case, that was how Sesshoumaru translated their silent speech. Perhaps his viewpoint was biased in favor of the little girl, instead of his younger brother.

As Inuyasha shuffled toward the kitchen, Sesshoumaru happily made his way out of the house.

So far, it was a good morning. He was not lagging behind in any subjects at school, so he planned to use this day at the bookstore to begin a practice-test for the college-entrance exams. The boss at work, Totosai, probably would not mind. (In fact, the old man might not even notice, unless Sesshoumaru informed him.) The sun had been over the horizon for little more than an hour, and birds were still chirping about it, as he strolled toward the gate of their front yard. Overall, the morning seemed to have a peaceful flavor to it.

At least, the morning _was_ peaceful, until he reached the gate. When he unlatched it, a sudden movement near his feet startled him. Apparently, there was a person sitting outside their house on the sidewalk. She jerked awake, with a sound like the startled mew of a cat.

He blinked in confusion. "Kagome?"

No doubt about it. It was definitely Kagome Higurashi, sitting in front of their home, as though she had every right to be there. The tip of her nose and her ears were red, and it seemed like there might be . . . _dewdrops_. . . in her hair. The blue-eyed girl looked bedraggled and cold. How long had she been out here?

"Oh! Um. Hello!" she began quickly, rushing to stand on her feet, before he could step onto the main sidewalk by the street. Brushing off the back of her skirt, she rocked uneasily onto her toes. "Yes. I was just . . .I was sitting here, waiting to see. . . Inuyasha." Then, this comment seemed to unsettle her, and she shivered before starting again, more firmly this time. "Or you. Mostly you, I suppose."

Sesshoumaru sighed under his breath. It seemed the gods had determined that he should take care of a younger girl, this morning. Although this one was distinctly older than his little sister, Rin, she seemed to need an equal amount of supervision. And this one, he would definitely not foist off upon his brother. It was up to him to determine exactly what had happened to her.

"How long did you wait, here?" he asked first, since it seemed like the most important concern. If she had been sitting outside on the doorstep, all night long, then she probably needed a warm blanket. Or a psychologist. Or both.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Sesshoumaru tried not to think of the girl like she was desperately crazy. He should listen to her side of the story, first.

"Hmm?" Absently inspecting her clothing, the dark-haired girl brushed a bug off her skirt. "Oh! Not long. Just a few minutes."

It was, of course, completely untrue. But he could guess why she might lie about such matters. Obviously, she felt embarrassed about waiting by the front gate; she knew it made her look odd. Good. Because it did. Reaching out to touch the back of her hand, Sesshoumaru noted that she did not feel very cold. Also, good.

When he touched the skin on her hand, her gaze flew upwards, and she quickly moved away from him, clasping her hands in front of her chest. She looked upset, almost guilty about something.

Naturally, his second question was just as inevitable as his first. "What is wrong?" murmured Sesshoumaru with a frown.

Normal people did not behave like this. Maybe something terrible had occurred?

"N-nothing!" sputtered Kagome. "I just didn't expect anyone to be awake yet. I came early, to build up my courage. Because I wanted to apologize. Yes. Apologize."

To which of the Inuhito brothers did she hope to apologize? Her opening statement implied that she had been waiting for _both_ Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. He had simply been fortunate (or unlucky) enough to be the first to emerge from the house that morning.

"Apologize?" he repeated, blankly. Hopefully, she did not want to apologize to his half-brother for breaking up with the boy. It had been a good decision.

As if this mild prompting yanked out a stopper holding back the words, Kagome finally began talking. One she started, she couldn't seem to stop. The words flowed together into a continuous stream, displaying her anxiety.

"I want to apologize for trying to force you to 'save' my relationship with Inuyasha," she babbled. "Several times, in fact. And for trying to force you to set up the relationship in the first place, because it was a terrible idea! You knew that all along, didn't you? I thought you were trying to drive a wedge between us, since Inuyasha told me you might do things like that. But that is obviously incorrect, because Inuyasha doesn't need help driving girls away."

Sesshoumaru blinked slowly, waiting for the real explanation. What she said was incorrect. Her earlier fears were completely true. Inuyasha actually _had_ wanted to avoid her, all along, and he had recruited his elder brother toward that goal (briefly). But Kagome had recently told him how annoying it was to watch his half-brother flirt with other girls – and he had nothing to do with Inuyasha's behavior on that particular score. Surely, this could not be the reason she was lurking outside his home on the weekend, because they had already covered the subject.

Unable to meet his gaze any longer, Kagome began to twiddle her fingers. "What I mean to say is... um... I started to think it was very important to have a boyfriend. Not just any boyfriend, but Inuyasha in particular. Because he was the first boy that I met in high-school, who was handsome and annoying and hard to understand. And I always like puzzles, so I thought I could make Inuyasha into a happier, more well-rounded person, by giving him the best gift of all. Me!" she laughed nervously, and she paused the movement of her fingers. "But in the end, he's not the one for me. Which is really obvious, now."

It seemed like she was thinking out loud, and the direction of her thoughts made no sense to him. Eyes closed, he tried to filter through all the input. Regrettably, she was not done yet. One thing, he understood for certain – women worried about far too much.

"Miroku said I should act more forward, if I wanted Inuyasha to like me," she continued, when he did not speak. "But I don't know what guys like, so I can't do that. Then, Miroku offered to give free lessons – completely perverted, of course – and I said no..."

Somehow, the more she spoke, the more nervous she became. He could not figure out what to say to calm her, yet it seemed clear that she was hoping for a response. In the face of his silence, she filled it up with words.

"In fact, I am probably just bad with men, in general," she sniffled. Sesshoumaru cringed. Her eyes, they were looking slightly watery . . . and especially blue. She was not going to cry, was she? "I just... wanted to say... I'm sorry for relying on you for all these things, and... I'm sorry. And I'll just... be going now, since no one wants to..."

Finally, he decided the best method to ease someone's worries was – distraction! He might not have any clue what Inuyasha had done, this time, to make her sad, or whether _he_ was at fault somehow, but he did know that she had been sitting outside for a long time. It was still very early in the morning, so she probably had not eaten anything yet.

And furthermore, if he distracted her, then she would forget about crying. Which was a good thing. Because Sesshoumaru never learned how to deal with crying girls.

Slipping one hand under her arm, he steered her away from the house. Inuyasha was in there, and his presence might upset her more. "Have you had breakfast?" he inquired calmly.

Kagome gasped, staring at his hand, as though she could not quite believe it was there. The arm quivered in his grasp. "N-no?"

"I was thinking of coffee," he said next, carefully ignoring the way that she froze under his touch. He would analyze all of this, later. At the moment, he wanted to change the subject, so she absolutely did not start crying on him. If so, then _he_ was the one who would be having a meltdown.

"O-okay," she agreed timidly. "I like tea. And they usually sell it, at coffee shops."

He nodded and led the way toward the nearest available coffee shop.

Truly, this girl was as crazy as his brother had said. Over-emotional, fanciful, and prone to impetuous actions like sitting outside of their front gate at the crack of dawn. It was anyone's guess how long she had rested there.

On the other hand, however, he didn't really mind. Perhaps her behavior was caused by the universally dreaded melancholy which overcame people who ended a relationship. Usually, the blues only descended upon a person who was dumped . . . but Kagome had been the exception to other rules. Perhaps she was willing to break this rule too. Inuyasha had not grieved for the death of their relationship, so Kagome was simply picking up the slack for him.

Tiny sniffles began to emerge from the direction of his elbow. Sesshoumaru steeled himself not to look. If he didn't see it, then she was not crying. He didn't like tears.

Unfortunately, Kagome immediately poked holes in his mental barricade. She mentioned it aloud. "I'm sorry to cry over something so stupid," she explained slowly. "I got a bit worked up, over nothing it seems. You aren't angry?"

He paused mid-stride, straightening to face her. Luckily, the tears in her eyes were not so terrible. Despite their existence, she seemed a great deal _happier_ than a few moments ago.

"Why would I be angry?" he asked. "You would be perfectly fine, if not for the fact that my brother undermined your emotional state."

She nodded, and then just as quickly, shook her head. "You do know," she said, "I am the one who broke things off with Inuyasha, right?"

"Yes." Of course, he understood! The end of a relationship could be stressful. Even if the partnership seemed brief or unrewarding. He understood perfectly.

"Right." she nodded once more. "Okay, then. Actually, I was waiting to apologize to _you_."

Turning to continue down the sidewalk, Sesshoumaru tugged at her arm, hoping she would follow like last time. He shrugged one shoulder, under the strap for his bag. "And you did. I accept your apology. Coffee."

She stumbled after him, her pace slightly off-kilter. Apparently, she had been hoping to convey something else, in addition to an apology. Finally, Kagome mumbled, "Oh! Nevermind. It doesn't matter."


	11. Chapter 10

**No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 10:**

It was a surprisingly enjoyable breakfast, and it lasted a surprisingly long time. He was supposed to arrive at the bookstore by ten o'clock, but he did not notice time passing, until glancing at his watch, he realized he was five minutes _late_ for work. Frowning, he checked the wristwatch again, unable to believe what it told him.

"What?" Kagome asked, slurping down the remnants of her milkshake. Yes, a milkshake. She had ordered a milkshake for breakfast. Not tea or coffee. Not a pastry or soup, a rolled omelet or any other normal type of food. If ice cream was an option on the menu, then it seemed to instantly win her approval.

"I would seem I'm late for work."

Sesshoumaru pulled out his wallet, before she could protest about splitting the bill. Waiting for a server might take too long. He would simply pay for the entire meal, for the sake of expediency. It wasn't as though he needed a part-time job, in order to pad his wallet. The job was simply a task that his father had invented out of thin air, due to brainwashing from an evil stepmother. Of course, explaining all of these details to Kagome would take too long. Instead, he threw some bills down on the table.

"Late? Late! Oh!" she echoed in distress. "I'm so sorry!"

He shrugged, not overly concerned about being behind schedule. The confusing part was that he had not noticed until now. Normally, he obsessed over details. This morning was exceptional in many ways.

Quickly, Kagome reached into her pockets to search for money, then rose to her feet with a mortified expression. "I'm... I didn't bring any..."

Once again, Sesshoumaru shrugged, unconcerned. He had already paid for the entire meal in any case.

She blushed slightly, following him out of the shop.

It had been enjoyable to talk to her. As she returned to her normal happy-go-lucky, energetic state, they had discussed various classes at school, and she had offered an intelligent opinion on a few teachers that he remembered from earlier grades. Next, she had spun tales about low test scores in middle school. She was not stupid, she assured him – she excused the low scores by explaining that she often got sick. Miraculously, the dates of her illnesses tended to coincide with the dates of any test that she had wished to avoid. At first, Sesshoumaru was completely gullible, accepting this excuse as reality. It was not until she began to giggle, when he had realized what she was actually saying. She had purposefully skipped some exams! He had chastised her, and she had promised it did not occur anymore. Only in middle school.

The conversation had been funny and light-hearted, and he felt completely relaxed. Perhaps that was why he had forgotten the time. Trivial conversation felt so... pleasant.

Quietly, Sesshoumaru pondered how long he had spent, alone, with a girl during high-school. He could not come up with much. Mostly, girls did not spend one-on-one time with a boy, unless they were dating.

Except this was not a date, because he had never intended it to be, and she had never expected it to be.

So, what did that make it?

Gah! Why did he have to think of that? Where did the thought even come from? How ridiculous. Drinking coffee with Kagome, it should not be labeled and categorized as a "Special Event." The blue-eyed girl was in a different grade. They had no friends in common. Besides, she was getting over his half-brother. He had to scrub these thoughts from his mind, straight away.

Beside him, Kagome was still following along. With a sigh, Sesshoumaru glanced over at her. "You don't need to follow me to work. I'm sure you have better things to do with your Saturday."

She just smiled. "Nah. Compared to you, I am a slacker. Inuyasha says you have always filled up your weekends with extra-curricular activities."

He snorted. "Untrue. I enjoy my free time, as much as the next person."

"What do you normally do?" she persisted. "Before you had a part-time job, I mean."

"Reading," he admitted. "Books are almost always interesting."

"Ooh! I like reading too!" she cried out happily. It seemed that she became very excited to learn they had a similar interest. Even a small one. "What type of books do you enjoy the most?"

Sesshoumaru paused to consider the question. Distinguish between certain types of books? No, no. He actually enjoyed them all. It would be easier to state the few types of books that he would _not_ read.

But when he explained this to her, Kagome merely laughed. She did not believe it. "Oh, really?" she teased. "So, the only books you skip are romance novels, and only if they are badly written? No one reads _each and every book_ in the library, just for fun."

He paused. Was it a trick question? "Actually, I did that, in elementary and middle-sch..."

With a squeal, she interrupted. "No way! You read every book in the library?" Kagome continued. "How do you decide _which_ books to read?"

He nodded happily. At least, she seemed to believe him now. "I start with 'A'," Sesshoumaru stated flatly.

Crossing the street, he moved a few steps onto the next sidewalk, before he realized that she was not walking beside him any longer. He looked back to find she had stopped with her jaw wide-open, staring at him in amazement. Then, scurrying to retake her position, she joined him on the other side of the road.

"I've never met someone as disgustingly determined as you," she decided firmly. "Started with A, finished with Z? Hmph."

To be fair, he conceded on a minor point. "Well... they did have smaller libraries in those schools."

The rest of the day would be useless, if she followed him to work. He would be distracted and unable to study. But strangely enough, Sesshoumaru did not mind a bit. He allowed her to follow.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"You can't 'practice' a practice-test!" Kagome argued from where she sat, near the check-out counter in the bookstore.

He had arrived fifteen minutes late, but Totosai had not cared at all. In fact, the old man had been excited about the fact that he brought a guest. If he was going to advertise the presence of the shop, Totosai had exclaimed, then Sesshoumaru could be late any day he wanted.

Next, the old shopkeeper had dragged Kagome on a tour. The young girl had been dutifully awed and impressed by everything that she saw, but eventually, she returned to the front of the store. The moment she saw that Sesshoumaru was studying, she had interrupted him. Of course, he had made the mistake of answering her question, and then, they had been drawn into this argument.

"I want to perform well," he countered. "And the deadline for early acceptance at universities is sooner than you'd think."

"But if you practice what is meant to be a practice-test at the cram school, then... you're really taking a _practice_ -practice test. And that's just obscene." She wiggled her fingers in midair, just in case he did not perceive the emphasis she laid on the word "practice." He shrugged. He seemed to be doing a lot of that, around this girl. She was amusing, but also puzzling, since her mind worked in a very different way.

Closing the booklet and the textbook next to him, he swiveled the chair to face her. "What else am I supposed to do?" he asked. "If Totosai wants me to restock or remove anything, he will inform me. Otherwise I just tend the cash-register. And there are approximately ten customers per day. Boring."

She blushed at this, and he eyed her curiously, wondering what portion of his idle remark could have embarrassed her. "Oh... um..." muttered Kagome, looking away. "Well, if you are bored you could always have friends come visit you in the store!"

Met with absolute silence, the younger girl appeared to grow even more nervous.

"Or you could read the books in here," she said next, switching the subject away from friends and onto a hobby, "It's a 'rare' bookstore, and you said that you like those."

This suggestion actually did catch his attention. Sesshoumaru had been wanting to explore the store more thoroughly. He would love to read some of the material... Yet he had firmly instructed himself to put schoolwork and exams first, before frittering away time on other activities. Reading was a hobby. It shouldn't consume his existence.

Hmm. Wasn't there a word for someone like him? Bibliophile, perhaps? It probably was unhealthy to desire to read every piece of printed material on the planet (except magazines and romance novels).

When he did not answer for the second time in a row, Kagome lost her nerve completely. "Or you could just study," she mumbled dispiritedly. "Model student... Gah!"

Words were not something of which he had an endless supply, like the girl in front of him. Still, he tried to comfort her, because Kagome sounded so disappointed by his lack of conversational skills.

"I enjoyed eating breakfast with you," he began slowly, changing the topic since he disliked speaking about himself. Besides, he actually _had_ enjoyed this morning. It seemed like she should know. "Although I have never seen anyone consume so much ice cream, before lunch."

Instantly, her sparkly, outgoing nature returned. Apparently, he was able to cheer her up without trying very hard. And that was good. Talking to her did not tire him, like it did when he spoke to other girls at school, sometimes.

"Oh no! Don't make fun of my milkshake, not anymore. You already hurt its feelings earlier."

Anthropomorphism... of a milkshake? That was new. Helpless to do otherwise, he played along. "The milkshake is dead, inside of your stomach, woman," he huffed. "You consumed it over an hour ago."

Her eyes grew wide and startled, and for a second, he worried that he had upset or insulted her, by calling her a 'woman' instead of using her name. It had only been a joke. Maybe not a particularly good one, but still, the best he could do on short notice.

But it quickly became clear that she didn't mind, and she was still playing a part. "Be careful what you say. The milkshake has become one with my stomach, and so he has ascended to higher levels of consciousness now. He might _hear_ you."

"The milkshake was _male_?" In what possible, conceivable way could a milkshake have a masculine gender? Sesshoumaru didn't even want to understand.

She laughed, a bright, carefree sound, before sobering. The smile remained. "I... enjoyed breakfast too."

Then, Kagome shifted her weight from foot to foot, her earlier unease beginning to return. "Well, I suppose I will see you at school, on Monday," she said bashfully. "I don't want to... take your entire day. Even if it does sound _boring_ , sitting in a bookstore all day. Studying! What fun."

Slowly, he nodded and sent her a questioning look. Her attitude would change from happy to funny to shy, only to repeat this cycle many times in a row. It was a little disturbing.

"Have a good weekend?" he offered finally, when she didn't move for a while.

"Oh! Yes. Right," she smiled again. "You too!"

Now, the happy version of Kagome was back again. It was maddening, watching her mood shift. As she left, he rubbed his forehead in confusion.

Was there something that he had missed, here?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Monday morning was blissfully quiet, since he arrived before other students began to appear. Autumn was progressing and the weather had grown colder, so the school would be switching on the heaters in only a few weeks, but for now, the empty silence of the hallways was unbroken, even by the humming of a fan. Sesshoumaru unloaded textbooks from his bag to the locker, then closed the metal door and paced toward the classroom for his first period.

He was early enough that he would beat the professor, but late enough that he would see Kikyou when he arrived. The other class-representative had been much more friendly, since her revelation to him last week. Well, she had become 'much more friendly' for _Kikyou_ , which was only a mild improvement where anyone else was concerned. They did not discuss life in depth, not really. Both of them remained too polite and reserved.

Another pair of footsteps sounded in the hallway. The third-year paused to listen. The steps were moving quickly, as if the person was hurrying, but he couldn't fathom _why_ someone would hurry, when students had almost thirty minutes before class began. Hmm. The footsteps followed a path that seemed to swerve directly by his locker, only to halt, and then to proceed in his direction.

Soon, a small, black-haired individual spun around the corner, and he stared in disbelief. Breathless from running, Kagome was holding a brightly wrapped box aloft in her hands. She stopped when she saw him, halfway down the hall.

"Oh! Good. You're still here!" she chirped. "I thought I would be too late, I made a late-start this morning, but I remembered that you usually came around this time, only I thought you might not be coming so early, anymore, now that we didn't have an agreement about lunches!"

Quickly clamping her lips shut to contain any further babble that might emerge, she walked the rest of the way forward and stretched out her arms. The package in her hands was obviously food. "I made you lunch," she explained, needlessly – he had seen plenty of lunch-boxes packed by Kagome Higurashi.

He stared. Their previous agreement was over, and she knew it. Whether or not she had continued to make lunches for _both_ Inuhito brothers, just for a while, it no longer applied to the situation _now_. Inuyasha and Kagome had stopped dating, so no more lunches for the little brother, and definitely no more tag-along lunches for the big brother.

Oh, hell. Did she . . . ? No. Surely not.

His palm hovered over the lid of the box, as though it might bite him. Finally, he relaxed his arm down at his side, without touching it. Did she believe they were dating, because he had paid for a single meal, on the weekend? That was _not_ what he had intended, when he walked to a coffee shop with her on Saturday.

She shrank backward, when he lowered his arm, and she defensively pulled the box closer to her chest. "Not that I..." she stumbled over the words, "I just remembered how you... Of course, you don't _need_ any more lunches, but I remember you asked for a hundred, initially, so I thought..."

"You do not owe me anything, Higurashi," he frowned. And he made certain to use her last name, this time, to create distance.

"I know," admitted Kagome, "But I'm terrible at math, mediocre at every other subject, and cooking is one of the few things I do well."

Kagome evidently believed he was a deprived soul, and he needed food. That he was so desperate for attention that he would request home-made meals from a complete stranger. That he had taken her on a 'date' that weekend, perhaps, when they ate breakfast together. She had no idea that providing for Rin was his true motivation.

Damn it.

Technically, he had never eaten a single meal that Kagome prepared – he gave them all to the little girl. And it was funny, but . . . for the first time, he actually wanted to accept, just for _himself_ , not to pass along the gift to anyone else.

However, he could not. Because there might be a hidden meaning to the gift, he could not accept it. He had set himself up for this failure.

"Thank you," he replied, "But no. There is no reason for you to make any extra effort for my sake."

She seemed to wilt like a flower in too much heat, blue-eyes growing clouded and troubled. Once again, he wondered if he had completely mishandled or misinterpreted the situation. Yet he didn't know what else to say.

This was not the feisty young girl that he recalled meeting at the outset of the year. While he had not _enjoyed_ their initial encounters, at the very least, he had... _admired_... Kagome for her spunk. He recalled the angry letter that she penned, accusing him of being a bad person for stealing Inuyasha's girlfriends, for denying Inuyasha's happiness. He thought of the way she had angrily renounced his half-brother, later, for flirting with other girls. She definitely had spirit. She upheld her own high standards, refusing to settle for second best.

And right now, her actions seemed wrong. Out of character. He did not like to watch timid behavior. Nor did he want to listen to frantic apologies by his front-gate, early in the morning.

But how to fix it? Without fully understanding the problem, it seemed like the best he could do was distance himself. Hopefully, the fire he remembered in her eyes would return soon.


	12. Chapter 11

**No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 11:**

It happened sooner than he expected.

After class, a trio of girls waylaid him before he could escape to the kendo club meeting. He did not recognize them, but they acted familiar and friendly, so he guessed that he must have assisted them at some point during a class. That was normal enough.

The first girl had wavy hair, and she stood quietly to the side, while the other two dominated the conversation. The short-haired girl announced how glad she was to have the opportunity to stand alongside him. To his other side, another girl with a headband agreed enthusiastically.

Hmm. Maybe they were part of a school-wide committee, and he simply couldn't remember what activities the group was undertaking?

In the background, toward the end of the row of lockers, he could see Kagome. Because they had separate lunch-periods, Sesshoumaru had not caught a glimpse of her all day. At the moment, she seemed to be upset, glaring at him, as if he did something despicable.

She was spying on him, and not very discreetly either. Without really listening, he nodded absentmindedly, agreeing with the next comment.

Well, this was unexpected. He had recently hoped she would regain her outgoing, indomitable spirit – but he hadn't thought she should direct her anger toward _him_ , now that Inuyasha was out of the picture.

"... even more handsome than your younger brother," he heard. Facing forward again, he finally started to listen to what the short-haired girl was saying. The word 'handsome' had definitely emerged from her mouth. So, perhaps she was _not_ a fellow committee member, or a girl he had helped with homework.

"Excuse me?" he growled, a small twitch developing beneath one eye.

The quiet girl, the one with gentle curls in her hair, quickly shook her head. "I swear that I didn't ask them to do this!" she murmured softly. "Eri! Yuka! We shouldn't bother him..."

The short-haired girl cut off her friend, however. "How else are you expected to get it off your mind?" she asked, before glaring at Sesshoumaru. "Ayumi has been interested in you for a long time! She is really a very sweet girl. She respectfully requests to know whether you would be interested in..."

"Really, it's okay, you don't have to come," the wavy-haired girl began, directing her words toward the upperclassman this time, instead of her friends. "They were just trying to help..."

Oh. For heaven's sake! He had been nodding his head in agreement, because he thought the activity they were discussing had to do with a school committee. Not because he thought they were discussing the importance of going on a date. Did he agree to something horrible, while he was busy observing Kagome?

"No," he frowned. "I'm afraid I cannot agree to go anywhere, with your friend. It seems there has been a misunderstanding."

Remain polite, he reminded himself. Remain calm. Don't react.

"Oh... okay," pouted the girl with the headband. "Er... just out of curiosity, is there someone else?"

Why in the world did this bother him so much more than usual? Twice before, in earlier grades, girls had tried to confess their 'feelings' for him, and he had politely turned them down each time. He had never felt _annoyed_ by it, though. Every other time, it was unimportant. This time, he felt upset.

It was frustrating just to stand there, breathing the same air they had already inhaled.

"I fail to see how that is any of your business," he snapped. A-ha! The same line Kagome had given him, when he first annoyed her by the tennis courts. She had been trying to drive him away, at that point. And now, he understood the sentiment. Hopefully, they would leave him alone soon.

When he looked up, Kagome had disappeared.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

There were stickers on his locker. From bottom to top, from side to side, every inch of it was covered in brightly colored stickers. There were glittering stickers, and pictures of kittens and bunnies, and floating balloons and ribbons. In fact, just about the only thing that one could _not_ see on his locker was the metal surface of the locker itself.

He pondered who might have accomplished this feat, but only for a instant. Only two people at school seemed to dislike him enough. And Inuyasha would not have taken revenge by forcing his locker to look more... adorable. It could only be Kagome Higurashi.

But why on earth would she plaster his locker with stickers, before class on Tuesday? Well, perhaps she did it yesterday afternoon while he was in club practice. Either way, he was going to be humiliated. There was no possibility of removing them, before other students arrived.

Despite the futility of it all, Sesshoumaru decided to give it his best shot. Dropping his bag on the ground, he rolled up his sleeves and began to peel away the 'cute' from his (formerly) respectable-looking locker door. Quickly, he grimaced. Some of the stickers were layered _upon other stickers_! This was going to take forever.

By the time Kikyou arrived, he was scraping the surface of the locker with the blade of his pocket-knife. He almost never took the knife out of his pocket. He wasn't even certain whether school-rules allowed him to carry it. But rather than carry around a blade that he never used – he was going to resurrect his dignity, by clearing the surface of the locker as quickly as possible. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Kikyou stopped and stared. Finally, after a few moments, she closed her mouth and regained her usual placid expression. "Need any help with that?" his classmate asked.

As she started to transfer books from her schoolbag to her locker, he shook his head. Yes, he might appreciate assistance, but he would gladly die, before _asking_ a fellow classmate for help. Not this particular girl, in any case. Even if they were not dating, even if she was a lesbian, he still wanted Kikyou to respect him. That portion of his feelings had not changed after she exposed her secret.

It seemed like she was trying not to laugh. He refused to look. Only fifteen minutes until class. More students would approach at any moment. He needed to hurry.

"A gummy, sticky residue will be left behind when the stickers are gone," mused Kikyou. "But sometimes... lighter-fluid helps remove it."

He stopped and stared at the locker door. She was correct. The surface of the metal looked like it had been covered with bits of glue and paper.

It was useful information. He had not known what to do about this part of the problem, until her suggestion. Still, it did no good. "I don't smoke," he replied, grumpily.

Rummaging through her pack, Kikyou unearthed a plastic, disposable lighter. Glancing at it, then at Kikyou, he raised one brow. A light blush dotted her cheeks. Obviously, she was trying to help, but she was also embarrassed.

"It belongs to Kagura!" she whispered under her breath. "I'll find paper towels, and once you are ready to wipe the front of the locker, you break it open to pour out the contents. It evaporates fast."

"Hn." He stuffed the small plastic lighter into his own pocket. Many people, it would seem, had hidden sides and carried around unexpected items. "Thank you."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

During first period, he pondered how best to retaliate against Kagome. She had employed devious tactics, hoping to embarrass him in front of the other students. She could not be allowed to escape!

There was absolutely no valid reason why she should be upset with him. The first time she had been angry with Sesshoumaru, he had understood why she felt it, but this time, it was truly ridiculous. And he planned to demonstrate that to her. And that called for retaliation.

Between second and third period, he caught sight of her, lurking around the locker area. With an unsympathetic smirk, he knew that he had been correct. Kagome _was_ the one who plastered stickers on the door, and now she was trying to see what response it had received.

Yet he had worked hard to ensure that his locker door was perfectly clean.

Glaring at him from across the hallway, she turned to stomp away. He stepped forward, intent upon asking her what she was doing, what she had been _thinking_... But there were too many people in the way.

Unable to halt her progress, without drawing lots of attention, Sesshoumaru allowed her to leave.

As she walked away, he saw that the small pocket of her bag was unzipped, and a piece of brightly colored cardboard lay within it. Perhaps this was meant to be the next attack, in her unjust campaign of terror against him? Bright colors had attacked him the first time, after all.

Creeping along after Kagome, through the crowded hallways, the third-year student checked that she did not look back and notice him following. Finally, reaching out, he snatched the bright-colored cardboard and lifted it from her backpack.

It turned out to be a set of gel-pens. Glittery gel-pens of multiple different ink colors, in an unopened package. Why exactly were high-school girls so obsessed with these?

Well, perhaps this was not another item meant to traumatize him. She couldn't have done anything to harm his reputation with brightly colored pens, could she? Sesshoumaru kept them, just to make sure.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

By the end of the next period, he was leaning against the wall outside of Kagome's classroom. He had gone through a lot of extra effort for this! He had requested a copy of her schedule, pretending that she was helping out the Cultural Fair committee and that he needed to analyze her class schedule to set up a time-table for her to meet with the group. Honestly, it should not be so difficult to take petty revenge on another student.

She exited the room, smiling at one of her friends, a girl with a ponytail and athletic build. Needless to say, however, when she saw him lounging against the wall on the other side of the hallway, she froze in place, looking slightly horrified. He carefully ignored her, merely crossing his arms and carefully displaying the gel-pens in his hand, as he moved.

"Hey!" Kagome instantly took the bait. "Those are mine! I was wondering where those went!"

Pretending to notice her for the first time since she had emerged from the classroom, Sesshoumaru decided to tease her for a while. "Oh?" he murmured pleasantly. "I don't see your name on them."

Narrowing her eyes, she stalked forward. "Give those back."

How odd. It made him happy to annoy her. It was definitely fun. "No," he deadpanned, holding the container above her head.

Kagome gasped. Evidently, she had not considered _refusal_ an option. "You cannot possibly want to keep my pens!"

Of course, he did not want to keep brightly colored gel-pens, for heaven's sake. He was male. But that did not mean she would get them back, so easily.

He tore open the package. "Pick your favorite color," he announced with mock generosity.

"Aah!" she shrieked in frustration and dismay.

Naturally, she snatched the pink one, before she sent him an evil glare. It went beyond her normal level of annoyance; it looked like she might be slightly angry this time. Actual spite flashed through her eyes.

Pointing one finger at him, she sputtered incoherently, then marched away.

Hmm. Maybe he should have returned the package. Opening it, on her behalf, that _was_ a bit rude... But then, it was also rude to put stickers on someone's locker.

No, he would not relent quite yet.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day, she made another move. To be honest, it took longer than Sesshoumaru had expected. Nothing had happened all morning and he had spent the afternoon growing steadily more paranoid.

At last, Kagome struck. He simply missed the opportunity to see her attack. When he arrived at kendo practice, a few other players snickered as he entered the dojo.

"Oi, captain. Need some help with your laundry?" asked one of the younger students.

His brow furrowed, as he tried to understand the comment. Another boy continued the earlier statement. " 'Cause my momma always told me to wash whites separate."

"Shut up, idiots," growled the vice-captain. "God, you are all so immature. These things happen."

Sesshoumaru blinked in confusion, until someone finally pointed out the outfit that was sitting in his bag. Wide-eyed, the pale-haired boy pulled out his uniform. Somehow, he had not noticed . . .

The practice uniform was _light pink_. Ah! This was not even possible! How could Kagome have assaulted a kendo uniform? The club practiced every other day. She must have stolen his uniform from the club room, the day after one of their sessions, when he had deposited it there. Then, she had washed it – in a laundry machine full of red and pink clothing. The (formerly) white fabric would never be the same, even if he poured bleach on it.

Getting back at her, this time? It was going to require some serious thought.

After he told the others to practice without him (because really, he could not act as a responsible team-leader if he was wearing pink), Sesshoumaru sat at the side of the gym floor to contemplate. Finally, the idea came to him. A harmless prank, yet suitably devious and embarrassing. He went to his schoolbag and removed a sheet of paper. A letter and a bottle of shampoo... Yes, that might do the trick.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you?!" screeched Kagome. In one hand, she was holding a crumpled sheet of paper. In the other hand, she was brandishing a bottle of Nix Crème Rinse, shampoo reserved for the treatment of lice-infestations. Waving the bottle vigorously to demonstrate her point, the other girl continued her tirade, but not many more coherent words came out. "What possible purpose could you... This is _not_ … Agh! Uncalled for!"

The high-pitched tone of Kagome's voice drew attention. Most other students in the hallway had already given up the idea of going to class. This was far more interesting than attending second period.

Ironically, Sesshoumaru was feeling a little bit guilty about the whole ordeal. If he had known that it would upset Kagome this much, then he would have picked a different form of revenge. All the other annoyances had been minor – for the last few days, they had only attacked each other's dignity in private. The fact that she had halted him _in public_ , where so many people could hear it, only to begin yelling at him... she was very mad. Very, very mad.

She pointed toward her hair. It was still slightly damp. "The nurse made me _wash_ ," Kagome ranted, tossing the dark curls over her shoulder. "I had to promise to Thank-My-Mother for helping to diffuse this situation as quickly as possible!"

"Kagome, I..." It was going to be an apology. Really, it was. But somehow, he couldn't speak. Even though she paused to wait for his remark, he couldn't force the words to emerge.

"Why would you make the entire school think that I have a _disease_?" she finally growled, when he did not finish. "You're completely insane!"

Untrue. The 'entire school' had not been privy to this information, before she announced it in the middle of the hallway. A spark of irritation began to bloom in his chest.

He did not like being part of a public spectacle.

" 'Lice' are not a disease," Sesshoumaru corrected her.

Obviously, this was the wrong thing to say. "Ooh! I am so... not going to forgive you!" she fumed.

Yes, he could apologize. Probably he should. But not right now, right _here_ , in front of all these people... It was like she refused to recognize her complicity in this fiasco.

"My kendo outfit is _pink_ ," he reminded her quietly, crossing his arms.

"Clothing color is a minor embarrassment!" she protested. "Head lice is a major embarrassment!" As if there were unspoken rules, and he had failed to follow them, she raised one eyebrow and stared at him challengingly.

The desire to apologize, it was fleeing further and further away. "At least shampoo will _solve_ your problem," he countered. "My uniform is permanently ruined."

"I only did that because you stole my gel-pens! Clearly, you needed more _color_ in your life!"

"After the number of stickers you plastered onto my locker? Hardly."

"AH!" she squealed. "This is all about stickers?!"

"No," Sesshoumaru stated, stepping forward into her personal space. "This is all about your childish behavior!"

"MY childish behavior?" she replied. "You're the one with the brother-hating, womanizing complex..."

In the distance, he saw a professor coming their direction. They had attracted too much attention. But somehow, he could not step back.

"What are you talking about?" he hissed.

"I saw you trying to flirt with those girls!"

Monday morning, he had spoken to three underclassmen. But he distinctly recalled _refusing_ to date one of those girls, so it did not make any sense that Kagome would claim he flirted with them. And even if he had, she was still behaving in a ridiculous fashion.

Anger felt good, he decided. A bright burning feeling, it lightened his chest, destroying his ability to over-analyze life. He should try being mad more often. It was easier to speak, even if his words might not sound _nice_.

"Hn," Sesshoumaru sneered. "As if I would flirt with _that_ type of girl."

"Oh my god!" Kagome snapped. "Could your ego get any bigger?"

To one side, a professor was clearing away all of the other students, firmly instructing them to attend class, not to linger in the hall. And the others were leaving, although they gave many backward glances at the student council president and the feisty first-year girl arguing with him. The news would circulate all over the school in less than a minute. He was about to get a detention. Sesshoumaru didn't even care, anymore.

"Those girls waylaid _me_. Don't even think about suggesting..."

"You almost had me convinced that you wouldn't try to steal your brother's girlfriends, but here you are sabotaging him. Again."

"None of those little idiots would be dumb enough to date my half-brother."

She froze. Then, fuming so hard she could barely see straight, Kagome pushed him in the chest. "How dare you!"

By now, the professor was standing beside them, holding up his hands. Somehow, he could not fit a word in edgewise. Both Kagome and Sesshoumaru ignored his presence. The distance between their bodies had decreased, until they were only a few inches away from each other. Kagome did not appear the least bit intimidated by his size, and she positioned herself between the teacher and his chest.

"I am not the least bit interested in my half-brother's love-life," Sesshoumaru responded, "If you had any sense then you wouldn't be either."

Kagome smacked him with the shampoo bottle in her hand. Hard. It made his left shoulder sting a little, after that strong a blow. Immediately, the professor darted forward to catch her arm, before she could move. "Higurashi-" the teacher began.

"This isn't about _Inuyasha,"_ snarled the blue-eyed girl, disregarding the authority figure who was trying to stop their argument. "In case you hadn't heard, I broke up with him."

"Then why exactly are we fighting?" Sesshoumaru asked in exasperation. Surely, this insanity did not spring from nowhere. She had placed stickers all over his locker, after he 'flirted' with girls, who apparently liked Inuyasha, despite the fact that one of them had been flirting with _him._

Undaunted by their mutual refusal to listen, the professor continued. "Higurashi-san!" He shook her arm, demanding attention. "You do not _push_ other students, and you definitely do not _strike_ them in the shoulder. Both of you , come with me. Now."

So, they walked to the principal's office on opposite sides of the instructor. Sesshoumaru did not have a clear view of her face, but it looked like there might be... tears in her eyes. Damn it all to hell.

On second thought, he realized, anger was counterproductive and harmful. They had gone from friendly teasing, to outright annoying pranks, to fury. It had only taken a short amount of time. And he still had not apologized. She deserved an apology, if he had infuriated her to this extent.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I should not have said those things about you." Facing straight ahead, so that he didn't have to see what the professor might think of all this nonsense, he spoke to the air directly before him. "And I should not have tried to... embarrass you, in front of your classmates. It was rude and unnecessary."

She snorted, on the other side of the instructor's figure, but did not reply.

"So... I'm sorry," he repeated himself, inanely. There wasn't really much else to say. She did not have to accept the apology, but he did hope she believed it.


	13. Chapter 12

**Several people commented – Kagome's reaction is too much! Over the top. I apologize, sincerely. I modeled the story after a few anime I have watched, so it DOES portray the usual stereotypes... I agree. Still, to me, her strong reaction meant she cared more about Sess than about Inuyasha. She actually cared, instead of 'thinking' that she cared. Sometimes, you convince yourself that you care. Other times, it is true. My reaction toward my own daughter is way overblown ( in a good way). My reaction to other children... still positive, but less?**

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 12:**

Late that night, after cram school, Sesshoumaru dragged himself through the door of their home. He felt discouraged. Detention had been acceptable; he was never assigned detentions, so he viewed it as an opportunity to learn what other people encountered over the years (like his brother).

Yet the entire time, he had been unable to keep his mind off of Kagome, even for one second. The faculty had seated her in a different room, so he could not check on her to see whether she felt better, or whether she had ever accepted his apology. Once the detention was over, she had already left the building, and he could not find her anywhere.

It was not as if he had anything new to add. The best he could hope for would be to apologize again. He did not want to seem like a stalker, or like someone who obsessed over the issue (even if he _was_ constantly replaying the event inside his head).

What had Kagome been trying to say, that morning? When exactly had they stepped over the invisible line from friendly fire to vicious nastiness? He did not feel that he could ask her directly.

Perhaps she would speak to her friend about her feelings, and the other girl would tell her boyfriend, Miroku, who would include Inuyasha in the circle of insiders... And then he could drag the information out of his little brother! Yes. That might work. Maybe.

Rubbing his forehead, he wearily moved toward his bedroom. But upon passing the kitchen, he saw a glimmer of white within the darkness of the chamber. His father was sitting there, at the breakfast table, motionless in the dark. Sesshoumaru frowned.

It didn't seem like such a bad idea, really. Sitting in the kitchen, in the dark. But why on earth would his father be doing such a thing? Perhaps they _both_ had a terrible day.

Shuffling his way into the room, the pale-haired boy pulled out a chair across from his parent and slumped into it. Touga nodded briefly. Sesshoumaru didn't reply. For a while, they simply sat together and enjoyed the silence.

It was strange though; he didn't hear any sound from the rest of the house. Usually, Inuyasha would be shouting at one of the video games he played, or Rin would be humming a song upstairs... At the moment, though, he could only hear a quiet hum of the air-conditioner in the background. It was peaceful, and it was nerve-wracking, all at once.

Finally, Touga shifted in his seat. "Yura was having an affair, the entire time we were married," the older man said. "Although technically, we are still married for a few more days. . . "

The remark sounded completely casual, as though he had simply announced it was raining outside or that he had three children. Sesshoumaru flinched. There was no good way to respond to a comment like this. True enough, he had never liked the latest stepmother, but he did not want his father to be unhappy.

Leaning forward slightly, he pondered for a moment, then asked, "How did you learn of it?"

With a derisive laugh, Touga explained. "I hired a private investigator to follow her." Saying it seemed to make him uncomfortable, although his earlier remark about the woman's faithless behavior did not. "I didn't want to do it," he admitted slowly. "But there were too many signs, you know? She always needed more money. She would disappear at odd times, when she said she'd be home."

As the elder man trailed off, Sesshoumaru agreed mildly. Actually, he had never guessed the woman was cheating on his father. If so, then he would have been even more harsh with his damned stepmother. All this time, Sesshoumaru thought Yura to be a small-scale thief.

Unfortunately, he did not feel especially sympathetic toward his dad either. He could see that the man had undergone a far more terrible experience than he had today. For that reason, he would not mention any of his own problems. Still, it was difficult to understand what could have drawn Touga toward Yura in the first place. Maturity should _deepen_ one's level of perception, rather than causing a person to become shallow or careless when analyzing others' faults.

Since he could not say something nice, he chose not to say anything at all. In the end, he was glad that his father had managed to investigate this woman's deception. It would assist Touga, financially, in the divorce settlement. If Yura was cheating on him, all along, then a judge would not favor her.

But that did not explain why Touga could not tell from the start that Yura was unreliable. In-between relationships, the older man seemed a bit too desperate to find another person to hold his heart.

Eventually, Touga spoke again. He was still staring absently at the kitchen counter. "I don't feel sad. I don't even feel angry."

"Good," Sesshoumaru insisted. "That's good."

And it was. To his way of thinking, Yura was totally valueless. She was not worth sadness _or_ anger. One emotion was too poignant, and the other too powerful.

After all, look at the disastrous mess which Sesshoumaru had caused today, while _he_ was angry.

And yet . . . For someone who claimed not to be sad, the old man definitely looked it. His father's face had a haunted quality. He looked devastated and serenely calm, two opposite poles tied together.

Silence stretched between them, until the air-conditioner shut off and the fan shuddered to a stop. Then, Touga turned to face his son. Checking for some particular attribute or emotion, he grimly inspected Sesshoumaru's expression. Finding nothing but empty blankness, however, Touga sighed and returned to staring at the kitchen counter.

Sesshoumaru wondered if he had just failed or passed the unspoken test.

"Why are we sitting here, without the lights on?" he inquired finally.

Touga smiled a brittle smile. "After I heard from the investigator, I talked to Yura, then came home early. I still wasn't sure why I didn't feel more upset about the whole issue, really. When I walked into the room..."

The boy prodded gently, when it appeared that his father was not going to continue. "Yes?"

"Just before I turned on the lights, " he confided in his son, "I saw Izayoi behind the counter. She was smiling. And so, I never bothered to flip the switch, that's all." This was spoken like a secret, in a hush, and Sesshoumaru felt his chest clench.

It hurt to know the one his father missed the most was Izayoi, and not his own mother.

Yet somehow, it didn't hurt as much as it used to.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Rin sat motionless at the breakfast table, studiously pondering a toy, turning it over and over in her hands. Ostensibly, she was not listening to the adult conversation around her, although Sesshoumaru guessed she was paying close attention. It didn't matter though – good news was being shared, in his opinion. In Inuyasha's opinion too. In fact, the only one who seemed worried about the delivery or reception of the news was Touga, and that was mostly due to embarassment.

"Well, at least one of your marriages will end in divorce," Inuyasha added unhelpfully, "Instead of death?"

His father stared at him. "You're incredibly bad at comforting people."

"Were you in need of comfort?" Inuyasha continued, blithely unconcerned.

With one hand on his forehead, Touga rubbed his brow. "Well, no," he admitted. "Actually, I thought this news might bother the three of you . . ." His tone sounded somewhat sheepish, at this point.

"Hell, no! That woman was a . . ." Inuyasha interjected vigorously, but he was unable to finish the statement, because his elder brother smacked him on the shoulder.

"Language," Sesshoumaru said, sending a pointed glance toward Rin. Ironically, the young girl only giggled. It seemed that she already knew her brother Inuyasha was not a perfect role-model, but she didn't mind watching him interact with others. "There is no need to give us replacement mother-figures," the eldest son continued. "Marriage is supposed to be about happiness, not just parenting."

"Yea!" the youngest sibling chimed in, at last. "Rin didn't like Yura anyway!"

Finally, this seemed to take the weight off their father's shoulders. Smiling, Touga shrugged his shoulders. "Ah! My shortest marriage yet!"

While the others laughed, Sesshoumaru merely nodded, unsure whether to join them or not. In fact, he was uncertain whether the comment had been a joke. Perhaps when truth was phrased as funny, then it sounded less resentful? But he had never, personally, been good at making such remarks. People always took him seriously, and he always told the truth, even when it was bitter. Wasn't that a good thing? The last time he tried to be less than serious, it had been around . . . Kagome. During their prank-war. And look how that turned out. Apparently, being funny and diffusing tense situations was not one of his life-skills. Too bad.

Scratching his head, he watched as Touga helped Rin leave for school. Yes, indeed. She was a very cute kid. A-ha! There was an interesting idea! What would Rin say to apologize to Kagome? Obviously, no one could remain angry with the little girl... because she was adorable and innocent and young and...

Oh, well. Back to the drawing board. What did Kagome expect, if not a straightforward apology, like the one he already gave? Was there any way to be more like Rin, without the cuteness-factor?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As people raced toward the lunch-room, Sesshoumaru stood back and observed the younger students. He had finally made up his mind how to apologize. For once, he was the one skipping class in order to attend another grade's lunch-period.

It wasn't that Kagome had been avoiding him, per se, but they didn't have any similar class times. And he really didn't want to embarrass her any further by showing up outside one of her classrooms again. It would seem that the other students had taken his prank in earnest; this was the reason she became so angry. His last 'prank' hadn't seemed like fun, because he didn't know how to make jokes properly, because he was . . . not enough like Rin?

Thinking of Rin was his inspiration, in the end. If words didn't work, then he would try actions. Rin had happily eaten all the lunches that Kagome prepared, although the older girl did not know it. Now, he would tell her the truth, and also demonstrate why he had needed her assistance so greatly. By making her a lunch just as boring and plain as the ones which he prepared for Rin, in the beginning.

Okay, so it was probably a bad idea to apologize to someone by making them a bad. . . er. . . not-very-delicious lunch. And it was risky, too, since handing someone an obento-box sometimes signified romantic interest. But a lunchbox fiasco had started all of this, so it seemed only proper that it would end their conflict as well. At least, that was what he was telling himself. In reality, he didn't quite know how to apologize without using words, and he had already tried that.

The background bustle and chatter didn't pause for a second, while he approached his half-brother's table. After all, most people didn't know him, a student from a different grade. No one paid much attention to strangers anyway.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, could only stare in disbelief. At his side, Miroku smiled in a friendly fashion. Glancing around, a bit desperately, Sesshoumaru realized he could not see Kagome anywhere, and he would have to ask about her. Out loud. His plan was falling to bits already.

Maybe she was still on the line to purchase lunch from the cafeteria? But no. She never did that, she always brought her own, and he knew it. That was sort of the point. And he had waited almost ten minutes after the lunch bell rang, knowing where she would probably end up, but now, he couldn't see her anywhere, and he was going to have to ask.

He checked over his shoulder, one more time, just in case the girl had entered (or exited) the cafeteria when she saw him. No. Still not there.

"What are you . . ." Inuyasha trailed off.

"Sango and Kagome are in the art room, finishing a project," Miroku added indulgently, with a knowing smile.

A flush of red started to creep over his neck and onto his ears. How did the violet-eyed boy know exactly what he was going to say, before he opened his mouth? Was it completely transparent? Oh, for heaven's sake, he had expected this apology to feel awkward, but it was unfair the way the younger boy could read his expression. Even worse, the idea that Kagome might have talked to them about their disagreement.

"He's not here to ask about your _girlfriend_ , stupid, he's here to torment me," Inuyasha griped, turning toward his friend, "As usual. But really, there is no reason for it today! Lemme alone!"

Well, so much for the idea that Kagome had talked to the others about him. That was good. But Miroku still seemed to know too much. An difficulty that he would deal with later, he decided. Nodding his thanks, he turned and left the hall. From behind him, he heard Inuyasha raise his voice, "Oh, no! He's going to try and ruin your relationship with Sango?! That's just mean! We should . . "

With a sigh, he ignored the rest. Hopefully, the other boy would keep things under control.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Your little sister?" Kagome murmured, a touch of disquiet in her tone. "So, you didn't really want those lunches."

"Of course I did," Sesshoumaru corrected her. He waved his hand over the box of plain rice and plain shrimp. Anyone could tell that the dish was boring and simple. Including, it would seem, little fourth grade girls. "As you can see, my culinary skills leave something to be desired," he finished, before a twitch of his dying pride made him add, "Although I have improved since then."

For some reason, the truth wasn't working, any better than an outright apology. Ensuring that Kagome knew how much she had been needed, how greatly her efforts had been appreciated, this should have made her feel better, right? But she seemed disturbed. A frown was creeping over her cheeks.

At her side, the girl with the ponytail – Sango, if he remembered correctly – covered her mouth with her hand, clearly trying not to laugh. He must have missed understanding the joke, again. A small sputter of laughter escaped under her hand, before it was quickly muffled.

"Sango! It's not funny," Kagome yelped. "Stop laughing."

The other girl started to turn red in the face from holding her breath. Muttering under her breath, Kagome pushed the lunch box away and focused on their art project once more, ignoring both of the other people in the room. The scissors in her hand made sharp cutting noises as she sliced through a pile of colored paper.

Sesshoumaru felt disappointment well up in his chest. It was strange. He hadn't expected her to like his gift – it was an apology, more of a symbol, not a real present – but he had hoped this would encourage her to talk to him again. Or maybe to explain what upset her the most about their earlier arguments and then he could apologize properly instead of . . .

This was ridiculous. He was debasing himself for no reason, and these girls were both crazy. One of them laughing for no reason, one of them angry for no reason, both of them friends with his half-brother for no reason. That last one should have signified their mental instability more than anything else.

Swiping the box off the table, he casually sauntered toward the door and dumped it into the trash. As he left the room, Kagome squeaked, "Hey! You can't just throw it away!"

"You didn't want it."

"Yes, I did," she insisted, rushing to the garbage can and peering down into it. The rice-balls were all smushed against the edge of the can. She growled in displeasure.

"I didn't actually expect you to eat it," Sesshoumaru continued, "It wasn't . . ."

"You brought me a lunch that you didn't want me to eat, in order to show me how you didn't actually want any of the other . . . ?" Kagome spoke rapidly, her words practically running together. But before she could finish, the sentence was interrupted by Sango in the background. The girl with the ponytail started cackling loudly, unable to hold her amusement inside anymore. Kagome turned to face her, flustered. "Sango, shut up!"

"No, that's not it." Closing his eyes, Sesshoumaru felt annoyed that he was so bad at explaining his feelings, even to himself. "I wanted you to know why."

"Okay." As Kagome spoke, her shoulders slumped and she exhaled slowly. "Whatever. I forgave you already anyway."

How could anyone keep up with the pace of this conversation? As usual, Sesshoumaru discovered that he was lost and couldn't follow what they were speaking about. She forgave him for not eating her food, or she forgave him for the bad ending to their prank-war? He kept his face completely neutral and blank, hoping she would elaborate.

Of course, she didn't. She changed the subject instead. "Inuyasha told us about your parents getting divorced. I'm sorry. That must be tough."

Well, at least they were talking again. Evidently, she understood that his awful gift was meant as an apology, rather than a meal. That counted for something.

"If he told you that much, he must have told you the rest," the pale-haired boy deadpanned, "Yura was an awful woman who spread lies amongst family members and slept around with strangers."

"Ah." With a thin smile, Kagome countered, "Then why do you look so sad?"

As she returned the table where their art project was taking shape, he followed and pulled up a chair. Meanwhile, Sango had gotten her laughter under control. While they spoke she glanced back and forth between the two of them, as though she was watching a daytime television show.

If Kagome could ignore her, then he could as well. Dismissing her presence as irrelevant, Sesshoumaru pondered the question. Sad? He did not feel sad. Puzzled, perhaps. Yes, that was it.

In the end, the confusing part was his father's behavior. What made one woman more lovable than all the others? Obviously, Yura was bad. But after their conversation the other day, it seemed clear that Touga didn't really love the other two women either. So, what had possessed his father to marry them?

If Touga loved Izayoi so much, he should have remained single, after her death. That would have been sad, in some ways, since they would not have encountered Rin. But it would have been more honorable, in Sesshoumaru's opinion. More honest and more honorable.

He shrugged his shoulders. Because he had taken so long in answering the question, Kagome had gone back to their art project, although Sango kept sneaking little peeks at him from time to time. "I am not sad," he said out loud, finally. "I'm merely curious why our father insisted upon remarriage, so often, to the point that he made such bad choices."

Kagome shook her head, equally perplexed. She gave a small snort. "I wouldn't know," she explained, "My mom's advice? Pick the right one, the first time. She never remarried."

His heart felt warmer at the thought of someone so sensible. A level-headed mother raising an equally sensible daughter. "Smart lady," he smiled. Kagome grinned back.

The bell to end their lunch-hour chimed, so the girls started packing their supplies. Wishing them both a good day, he moved toward the hallway. As he exited the room, he heard Sango urging her friend, "Stupid! Tell him, already."

"I already tried," Kagome hissed in reply, "Be quiet."

"Hmph," Sango finished, grumbling, "... both attach far too much meaning to lunch."

Naturally, when Sesshoumaru heard this he couldn't stop thinking about it. So, there _had_ been some sort of hidden meaning attached to the final box that Kagome offered him. And of course, that was the reason why he had been reluctant to accept it. But he couldn't comprehend why turning down a favor, like that, it would incur Kagome's wrath and begin their subsequent battle.

He didn't know exactly which part of politely declining to eat something that she made was offensive. But even more important, if she asked him again today, he didn't know if he would have the same response.


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Ergh. I am bothered by the behavior of my characters. Without knowing what exactly to do to fix it.**

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Chapter 13:**

It had finally occured to him. Sesshoumaru realized it. He tended to overthink his problems. And ... part of this was so that he could avoid making a firm decision, by telling himself it was even more important to make a wise one.

But really. What normal person spent the entire night debating the pros and cons of dating in general, before even beginning to wonder whether he actually desired a particular girl or not? Most people thought about it in the opposite direction. First they realized they "liked" someone, then they worried about dates.

Did he like Kagome? Of course.

Did he love her?

How was someone supposed to answer an impossible question like that anyway?

All he knew for certain was that he didn't want to date, love, or marry anyone, if it would turn out badly, like so many of his father's experiences. Yet avoiding the issue was like fear, and he'd never be a happy person if he lived life in that fashion, would he?

Agh! It was enough to make his head hurt, and the morning had barely begun.

He had liked Kikyou, and Kagome was nothing like Kikyou. Except when she was. And perhaps she was a little bit better in some ways. Kikyou was beautiful, dependable, intelligent, and helpful toward others. Those were all things which he had liked about the girl who was his fellow class representative. And they were all things which could be said to describe Kagome as well.

Neither one of them let trivial, unimportant things upset them, although they dealt with it in different ways - Kagome with exuberance where Kikyou would remain calm. Still, the more time he spent around Kagome, the more he appreciated her sparkling, dynamic personality. Hadn't he just had that thought, at the shrine where Kikyou worked? That speaking to someone so calm and placid was difficult, and that Kagome was more fun to be around due to her range of emotions?

Only a few months ago, Sesshoumaru would have said that he had no emotion, that his feelings remained sealed up tight. But ever since meeting the young first year girl, he knew that for a lie. Around Kagome, he didn't pretend to be happy - he actually was, most times. She accomplished the impossible, easily.

From the very beginning, he had found her a little bit crazy, and maybe a little bit gullible (for believing everything Inuyasha said). But her flaws had been more amusing than anything else. Even back then, he had been disturbed by the idea of her dating his brother. . . he had felt guilty about how adorable her clothes were on her first "date" with the boy, but all that really meant was that he had been taking note of her styles and appearance from the start. He always found her attractive - even though he had told himself this was because she "looked like Kikyou" - it didn't change the facts.

With mounting dread, he realized that the decision might have already been made. She already knew his idea of a perfect date. He had stopped thinking of her formally, long ago, and he had started to enjoy their familiarity instead. He enjoyed spending time with her, thought she was both adorable in nature and beautiful in appearance. He liked her more than someone would like a casual acquaintance or even a friend.

So, maybe he was just like everyone else – he already liked the girl, and he only started to think about dating her after this was already established. He was simply slow on the uptake, and he took a long time to comprehend that he actually liked her. But that didn't change the order of events.

Ah, well. None of it really mattered anyway. She might have considered him a prospect at one point. Still, that rumor he started about lice... Technically, it _was_ rather insulting. If Kagome had liked him before, it was quite possible she did not anymore.

All the same, her best friend seemed to think that she did. He couldn't forget what Sango had urged her to do. They had been talking about him in a positive way, right?

Okay, fine. He didn't know for certain what they had been talking about, at all. Maybe he could take Sango aside, and he could ask her what their last few comments had signified.

No. He was over-analyzing the problem again. Normal people just asked for a date and hoped the answer would be yes. It wasn't rocket-science.

Deep down, Sesshoumaru was afraid of how disappointed he might feel, if the answer was no. He would not ask, rather than be rejected. But wasn't that yet another piece of evidence on how greatly the girl could affect him?

There! The decision was made. He would not ask her anything, and they would continue to be friends, and that was fine. Good, in fact. He wouldn't ask, because she might say no, because she didn't actually like him as a boyfriend. And that was fine.

He really needed to stop thinking about it, now.

With a sour expression on his face, he rested his head on his hands. The sounds of other students settling into place in their home-room surrounded him. He had been considering the merits and the downsides of asking Kagome out on a date for a whole evening. But it was a stupid idea. How did he know this? Obviously, one would not attack the person on whom she had a crush, by putting stickers all over his locker and staining his practice uniform and . . .

Was it a plea for attention? That didn't seem to be Kagome's style. It had seemed like she was genuinely upset with him. And he still didn't know precisely why.

She said that it was unacceptable for him to flirt with girls that his brother wanted to date. That was it, yes. She had gone from annoyed to absolutely furious, the moment that he mentioned Inuyasha and brought his half-brother into the conversation.

Maybe he was reading the signals all wrong, and she was still interested in his younger brother?

As the teacher called class to order, silence fell amongst the students, and it seemed to clear away the debris in Sesshoumaru's mind as well. Their teacher began to read the morning announcements, and he couldn't hear a word of it, because he was busy reviewing Kagome's words in his head once more. She was angry about him _flirting with girls_ in general. It was the same thing which bothered her about Inuyasha toward the end of their brief 'relationship'. . . which meant her concern was more about _him_ than about his brother. Which meant that she _did_ like him, after all?

This was probably why people pulled petals from flowers along with a ridiculous rhyme – just to help oneself make a decision, at last. Yes, Sesshoumaru definitely had a problem with over-thinking any given subject. At least, he recognized it was a problem now.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Any good hypothesis deserved to be put to the test.

When Inuyasha left that afternoon, he walked with Miroku, Sango and Kagome. From the front gate of the school yard, Sesshoumaru observed them quietly. Then, with a smirk, he stepped forward into his half-brother's path, fully enjoying the jerk of surprise the younger boy gave when he saw who it was.

"No way! I'm not going home yet," Inuyasha said quickly, assuming that was the reason for his brother's presence. "We are going to hang out at the arcade!" He crossed his arms over his chest, as if to make his point more clear.

"Naturally. That's fine," Sesshoumaru assured him, "Only . . . I need one small favor."

His smile seemed to be making the others even more nervous. Inuyasha stepped backward, warily. "Okay. What?"

"I must leave early, to meet Rin after class," he explained, trying as hard as he could to keep his expression friendly and innocuous. It wouldn't do any good if Inuyasha realized this favor was unnecessary and refused to help. "Could you tell the kendo-club instructor that I'll miss practice this afternoon?"

"Oi," whined Inuyasha, "Why can't you do it?"

Inwardly, he enjoyed this. Egging on his little brother would make the result more likely. "Because I have to meet with _Rin,_ " he repeated himself, firmly, word-for-word. Then, as if he wasn't sure the intelligence level of his brother was enough to understand it, he insisted. "Do what you're asked. It won't take long."

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha finally agreed. The other three students went with him, until halfway across the school-yard, when Inuyasha turned for a parting shot. "Have fun with your fiancée!" he called out over his shoulder, knowing that it would probably irritate his brother.

But today, this was what Sesshoumaru was hoping to hear. It was the hypothesis that he wished to test.

Instantly, Kagome stiffened, stopping behind her friends. Next, she whirled about to face him. "You're engaged?!" she called out, with what appeared to be disgust written on her face.

Hmm. That meant he might be right – she liked him. Otherwise, she wouldn't seem too horrified to hear he was engaged to someone else.

"Not by choice," he replied calmly, walking toward her and endeavoring not to smile. For the first time, it was truly difficult to keep a straight face. On impulse, he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the street. She followed, mostly because she was too startled to do anything else.

In the distance, Miroku shook his head and pushed Inuyasha toward the gym, despite his protests; they still had a promise to keep. This, also, Kagome failed to notice. Her face grew red, as they walked – not an embarrassed sort of blush – no, it was an angry color.

"Where are we going?" she asked, voice tight.

"To meet her, naturally," he answered. Equanimity. Calm composure. Serenity. That was the ticket. No humor. The slightest bit of laughter would not be well received.

Although the corner of his mouth was twitching slightly.

"I don't want to meet your _fiancée_ ," she hissed in frustration.

"Oh?" He played dumb. "Why not? She's not so bad, once you get to know her."

By now, they were at the tram-station, although the commuter car hadn't arrived yet. Kagome was fuming silently. "Hmph. Do you 'know' each other well?"

"Well, we aren't married yet."

"So honorable." She tugged on her arm, but he refused to release her hand. Her cheeks grew a little bit more red, and it looked like she was. . . pouting. Yes, it was kind of cute.

Turning away, he looked down the railway so that she wouldn't catch a glimpse of his expression. "She's a bit young for my tastes anyway," he admitted.

Clearly interpreting him to mean 'young' like a high-school freshman girl, Kagome took insult at this. "Let go," she growled, tugging harder on his hand.

"No." The tram was pulling into the station, and people were getting off the train.

"Let go!" she insisted, struggling against his grip.

He merely slipped his other hand behind her back and manuevered her onto the carriage.

"Oooh! I'll scream!" she told him, while the doors began to close behind them. "All these people will think you are a kidnapper. An abuser of women. A rapist."

Somehow unable to stop playing the game, because her reactions were just too hilarious, he trapped her against the doorway of the tram with his arms. "Rapist?" he asked, "Not if it's consensual."

She failed to reply at all, except with a tiny squeak. For a full minute, she stopped meeting his gaze. Then, she elbowed him in the chest and the breath rushed out of his lungs. "Don't. Touch. Me."

Okay, maybe he was causing a bit too much alarm, Sesshoumaru thought. He didn't try to touch her again. On his other side, an elderly woman stared at him, like he was the devil incarnate. The old woman gathered her shopping bag more closely against her chest.

Finally, as the train arrived at their station, Kagome seemed to recover possession of herself. The doors opened, and she pushed him hard in the chest. "I don't tolerate two-timers!"

Stomping down the staircase that led from the elevated track, Kagome turned to go back toward their school. It hadn't been a long trip; she would simply walk. She would meet up with the others. Sesshoumaru picked up his bag and rushed after her. "Wait!"

She crossed her arms and tucked both hands beneath the shoulder, so that he couldn't grab either hand.

He knew he should probably tell the truth now, but her temper tantrum was still. . . kind of adorable. Mostly because he was pleased by the emotions that were causing it. Instead of explaining, he caught up with her and said, "Two-timing? That would imply we had a stable relationship. Do we have a . . ."

"No!" she shrieked. "You jerk!"

When he lifted one hand, even the tiniest bit, she sputtered. "Don't touch me, or I really will scream, and people will call the police and you'll be sorry."

The downside to teasing someone was that it might go too far and actually bother that person, a lot. Kagome looked quite upset, so Sesshoumaru didn't want to press his luck. "It's only a little bit farther to the school yard," he murmured. "Please accompany me?"

She seemed equally shocked by his polite request, as by his calm tone. But she didn't budge. With a sigh, he knew he'd have to explain. "I'm not really engaged."

Kagome didn't look at him or reply at all. Maybe she didn't believe him. Maybe she didn't know what to think. Thankfully, she did not leave either. Nervous being this far from the schoolyard, Sesshoumaru looked toward the elementary school building. What if he missed seeing his step-sister entirely, and she went home without them, and Kagome never fully believed him. . .

There! A group of fourth-graders was crossing the street to reach the tram. Surrounded by friends, Rin walked at the center of the group, but only until she saw the two older children. Then, the little girl's face lit up.

"Sesshoumaru-husband!" Rin yelled with glee, breaking away from her friends to run toward him. She hugged his legs. Although she normally went home alone, she didn't mind meeting family on the way. "You came!" she exclaimed happily.

Kagome stared while he introduced the girl, one hand on her head. "My step-sister – Rin."

". . . the lunch-boxes." All at once, he could see the relief in her eyes. "Hmm," Kagome pondered, one finger tapping her chin. Apparently, she was ready for some revenge. "Even if you aren't really blood-related, isn't she a bit too young for marriage?"

A big grin formed on Rin's face. The small girl proudly asserted her claim. She was tricky like that. Because of the earlier comment about lunches, Rin stated, "Sesshoumaru-husband makes me an o-bento every day! When I grow up, I will cook for him too."

Sesshoumaru nodded sagely, patting his sister on the head. "Yes, and that is what marriage is all about. Let's go."

Kagome traveled home with them, getting acquainted with Rin along the way. At first, she seemed embarrassed. Next, she seemed frustrated and also much happier, this time. While they rode the tram three stations down, toward Sesshoumaru's home, Kagome eventually had to ask. "Say!" she inquired brightly of the small girl. "What do you think about the food that Sesshoumaru makes for you?"

"You're fishing for compliments from a nine-year old."

Rin looked a bit lost. "Because I know about the food Sesshoumaru makes," Kagome continued, watching him over the little girl's head, "It is really gross."

"Now, now. I've gotten much better."

"You made mine yucky on purpose?" Kagome gasped in mock dismay, placing one hand over her heart.

"You never even tasted it," he reminded her.

"And whose fault was that?"

Just like that, they were back to normal, able to have a good time together. And Sesshoumaru knew his test had been proven right.


	15. Chapter 14

**I can't begin to thank you wonderful readers and reviewers, enough! Thank you, again and again . I hope you have enjoyed the story. I apologize for the endless delays in publication.**

 **No Such Thing As Free Lunch**

 **Epilogue:**

The next day, before class, he asked her out. As usual, Kagome turned the situation in her favor. "What makes you think I would want to go out with you?" she protested.

He almost laughed, since it was the opposite of what anyone else would say. Even more strange, he had been so worried about the idea that she might turn him down. Yet despite her words, he knew she was only joking, and he didn't mind at all.

"You don't have to," he offered her a chance to refuse. "You see, you might not want to date me, because I have to leave for college soon. Next year, you might . . ."

"Oh, hush." Kagome cut him off with a smile. "Don't worry about trivial things. I like you."

His heart felt lighter - more free - like it had been released from a cage which he hadn't even known was there. "Alternatively, " he continued happily, "You might not want to spend time with someone who studies so much. . . "

"Good grades are important."

"Some people say I'm 'cold' and 'distant'."

She hummed displeasure in the back of her throat. "Do you want to go out with me or not?" Then, she poked him in the chest. "You asked, after all."

"Where should we go?" he inquired, next. It was traditional for a guy to plan the date, but then, she already knew his idea of a 'perfect date' and she had laughed at it. So, he decided to let her pick the activities. Kagome came up with much more fun ideas than he did.

Even their retaliation war had been fun, looking back on it. It was fun to relax a little, since he tended to live a life of constant effort and control. Pulling pranks on someone had been oddly enjoyable.

They walked toward her homeroom together. As they approached, he saw Sango elbow her boyfriend in the chest from inside the classroom. The violet-eyed boy just rolled his eyes in amusement. Fine. All right. Those two had been expecting this, before Kagome and Sesshoumaru even figured it out. Let them deal with the fallout when his half-brother learned the truth.

"A meal at the shop where Inuyasha is working," she suggested, "Make him wait on your table. It would bother him?"

With a snort, Sesshoumaru shook his head. Although he liked the sneaky way she thought, he didn't feel the need to bring his brother into this. They had nothing to prove to Inuyasha. An absence of jealousy was very different for him. Sesshoumaru felt almost fond of the little idiot at the moment. If Inuyasha hadn't been such a 'bad' boyfriend, then Kagome wouldn't have moved on to greener pastures. In the end, Inuyasha had done him a favor.

"Okay, okay." She surrendered the battle. "Museum – so that we don't get a sunburn," she giggled.

"Besides, my grandfather would love some of the exhibits."

"We're bringing your grandfather along?" asked the third-year student, hesitantly. It was hard to tell if she was joking, this time.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They hadn't spent very long at the museum. Sesshoumaru had spent most of the time gazing at his companion instead of the exhibits, and when she suggested an alternate venue, he consented easily enough. Now, they were sitting on the swings, in a park near the art center.

Only one swing was making any noise, however. Kagome swayed back and forth, clearly enjoying herself. Sesshoumaru sat perfectly still, unable to look away from her legs. He thought he had never seen such lovely legs, in all his life. There were lovely little dimples on the edge of each of her knees, and they looked smooth, and he kept imagining how the skin would feel if he could only touch it.

Not that he would do anything physically affectionate on a first date. No. Touching her knee would be way over the limit, right? Holding hands was about as far as they could go. Of course, he had never really been on a date. If he had, then he might have been more prepared for the fact that his brain would turn into mush at the sight of a girl that he liked.

She had worn another cute dress, carried a matching purse, and even her toenails had little daubs of polish on them. In fact, this dress was even better than the last one that he remembered seeing on her, because it was shorter. Luckily for him, she was brave enough to suggest playing on a _swing-set_ while wearing a short skirt. It came down to her knees, but still . . . he couldn't seem to move his eyes.

At this rate, she would think he was a licentious, unrefined, boorish idiot, interested in her for all the wrong reasons. Tearing his gaze away, he looked at the sky instead. Little fluffy clouds. There. That was better.

"When I was young," Kagome informed him, "I used to pretend that I was a warrior-priestess, with a flying nekomata, who attacked evil demons. Every time the swing would reach the top, I would kick the bad-guys away, and then pretend I had fallen off my mount, and the cat would have to dive and catch me before I fell to the earth."

Surprised, Sesshoumaru didn't know exactly how to reply to this. It seemed like such an elaborate fantasy. What could he offer in response? "I can't attest to any such grand ambitions, when I was younger," he said almost sadly. It sounded like her childhood was more fun than his. "I just wanted to be the best."

"At what?"

"Everything." With a touch of shame, he realized he was staring at her legs again. Her skirt fluttered in the breeze, enticingly, every time the swing carried her forward. He blushed and returned to staring at the sky.

"Why?" she asked, curious. Her tone of voice seemed to imply this was an interesting topic. He felt unreasonably flattered, since he knew it wasn't.

"I don't know," he began. But then, he altered his choice of words. Lying and hiding things was not a productive beginning to a stable relationship. Even if he did feel ashamed to admit the truth in front of her, he should. "Because it made me feel like my parents were proud of me," he started again, "Even when they weren't."

Digging her feet into the gravel, Kagome dragged her swing to a stop. "Hey!" she protested. "Of course they are proud of you. Every parent is proud of. . ." Then, slowly, she halted. He watched the realization dawn over her face – his father had remarried a lot, which meant his mother had died, long ago.

"Maybe so," he acknowledged with a shrug, "But I couldn't see it. So, I settled on being proud of myself."

Rising from the seat of her swing, Kagome stepped closer to him. A mischievous spark flared in her eyes. "The Best, huh?" she repeated. He could actually hear the capital letters she was using, while she emphasized the words. "At Everything."

Before he knew what had happened, she was in front of him, leaning forward to catch his attention. And indeed, her figure was riveting, although not for the reason she probably expected. The truth was, when she bent over like that it allowed others to see. . . Well, it was a rather low-cut, v-neck shirt.

Surely, she wasn't doing this on purpose, was she? Such torture would be unlike the sweet first-year girl he had gotten to know. Tilting his head to the side, he wondered if that color would be considered carnation pink, or pink like cherry blossoms, or pink like cotton candy . . .

"Which means, you are the best at giving kisses, too?" she finished.

His eyes flew up to meet hers, and he flinched slightly. Okay, so she had been doing that pose on purpose. And he had been squarely caught in the act of ogling her undergarments. The redness on his cheeks, which had only just started to fade, flared up again.

"Ah?" Wondering when exactly his senses had left him, Sesshoumaru found himself at a loss for words.

Kagome merely shook her head and stood upright again. "Oh, come on, I gave you the perfect opportunity."

"That subject isn't taught in school," he complained. When he said he was going to be 'best' , he meant at the normal curriculum.

"I'm the expert here?" She sounded surprised.

With a slight frown, he did not answer, since it didn't sound like a question. Still, what did that mean? She was no expert on this subject either. Girls that took the lead and kissed tons of boys, that kind of girl dressed and acted differently, right? A trace of worry showed itself on his forehead.

"Only two," she waved one hand dismissively. Evidently, she could tell the direction of his thoughts. "Hojo was a total idiot, and . . ."

He should have inquired further, perhaps, but he was selfish. Even in his own mind, he wanted her for himself. He would not share this day with the memory of another person intruding into the center of it.

Quickly, he rose from his seat and drew her forward, cutting off her words. And suddenly, they were close enough that he could feel her breath on his chin. The color of her eyes was breathtaking, and almost as wonderful as the surprised look on her face. So, she wanted him to take the initiative? He could do that.

He carefully leaned in, until his nose was beside hers. Warmth bloomed in his chest. She smelled superb – clean and fresh, no perfume, and yet he could sense a hint of mint and flowers.

When she exhaled, her breath feathered against his cheek. It seemed like she wasn't sure whether to pull back or to snuggle into his chest. Then, decision made, she was pulling his body against her own.

It began with a touch. Then, a lingering slide of her lips against his own. Finally, he stopped worrying about what on earth he was doing, whether he was doing it properly, and he relaxed. With the tip of his tongue he tasted her, gently. The lip balm was what made that delightful minty smell, but she didn't taste like anything except Warm and Smooth, and maybe a little bit of Fantastic.

Before he knew it, she had locked both arms around his neck. She had one palm on his hair, pulling his head down slightly. Her lips were far more demanding than his own. In the end, she was the one who advanced the kiss past the preliminary stages. Her tongue touched his lips, then his teeth, then his own tongue, and then his brain stopped thinking entirely.

It could have been one minute or ten minutes, (who knew?), before another voice intruded upon their moment of heaven. "For heaven's sake!" the voice insisted, "This is a playground!"

He stepped away from Kagome, but his hands didn't seem to be on the same page with the rest of his body, since they refused to let go. Standing there, holding her at arms length, his palms fisted into the material at the back of her shirt, he spared a glance for the person who interrupted them (older woman, grocery bag). But then, without even meaning to, he was gazing at Kagome once more.

Her eyes looked wide, when she was startled. And they were the most lovely, dark blue shade at that moment, instead of their normal light-blue. A dusting of pink colored her cheeks.

Then, she smiled. It was mesmerizing. The smile started slowly, because her upper teeth were pressing into her lower lip, but before long, that luscious, delicious tasting, wonderful lower lip emerged from her mouth and formed a beautiful grin.

Sesshoumaru caught himself leaning forward to try and taste her lower lip again. After all, it looked even more enticing than before, slightly puffy and bright red from their first kiss. And the stranger who intruded upon their earlier kiss had disappeared, while they were gazing at one another. So, obviously, they should pick up where they had left off.

Unfortunately, she wasn't on the same page as he was. Just before his lips could catch hers, Kagome hid her face in the fabric of his shirt.

"Okay, fine," she giggled. "You _are_ the best at everything."

Ah, well. If that wasn't the perfect salve for his wounded dignity, he didn't know what would be. His arms involuntarily tightened around her. For a few moments, they didn't move, enjoying the sunlight and the presence of the other person. Finally, his heart began to slow down, and Sesshoumaru could think again, like a normal human being.

Although the subject of his thoughts didn't change that much. "When I walk you home," he asked happily, "Do I get to have another kiss on your doorstep?"

"Agh!" she protested. "Not if my mother is home! Besides, who says our date is over?"

Sesshoumaru smiled, sincerely. For what felt like the first time, he realized he didn't care about how other people perceived him. And he wasn't worried about the future. He was simply content – right here, right now – it was a relaxing, marvelous day. Kagome was good for him, in that way.

It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.


End file.
